While weight loss may seem like a purely physiological phenomenon, mental factors play an enormous role in the effectiveness of any overhaul of your diet and exercise habits. Before you begin a new weight-loss program, assess your own strengths and weaknesses in matters of self-discipline. Weight loss will inevitably require lifestyle changes, so it's a good idea to be clear with yourself from the start about what you're willing to give up or take on. Consult your doctor for advice specific to your situation.
Habitual Eating
Even if you stick to a disciplined exercise regimen, if you succumb to bad eating habits, you won't see any weight-loss progress. For many, eating is connected with emotions or mental states. If you habitually eat unhealthy foods when you feel angry, sad, bored, exhausted or lonely, you can easily upset a good exercise streak the first time your emotions take a dip. Breaking eating habits may require a systematic effort of self-discipline, or you might find that counseling, neurofeedback or other therapies help to break through particularly trenchant patterns.
Unrealistic Goals
The best intentions can eventually derail your weight-loss plan if you aren't practical in formulating goals. If you typically arrive home from the office completely exhausted, don't expect to run for a full hour. Instead, set a more reasonable goal, like a walk around the block. Picking a less-demanding goal will give you a better chance of realizing it over the long term. Once you've consistently met the goal for several months, you'll have made fitness a consistent part of your routine. From there, build on the goal to increase your workout's intensity, duration or frequency.
Fears and Intimidation
If it's your first time stepping into a gym, looking at all the trim and glistening bodies can make any novice feel out of sorts. It's particularly rough if you're looking to lose weight out of dissatisfaction with your appearance. According to a study at Temple University's Center for Obesity Research and Education, reported in 2008, the factors that most consistently kept women from exercising included self-consciousness, fear of failure and feeling too overweight to exercise. Though illogical, such fears and inhibitions can easily take a weight-loss program way off course. To avoid getting overwhelmed, break your goals into small, manageable chunks that you can monitor and perhaps record in a journal. Don't let yourself make excuses for missing a workout. Be reasonable and patient with yourself, but take charge; for example, you might aim for four workouts per week, but set your baseline at a minimum of three.
Poor Scheduling
Even if you put all the other pieces in their places, if you schedule your workout for an inopportune time, you may inadvertently sabotage any progress. Take the example of the exhausted professional, who gets home to flop onto the sofa; if you're dead tired in the evening, wake up half an hour earlier and take a brisk morning walk. You might find the exercise actually improves your energy level during the day. If you're about to go on a holiday or have houseguests, work out reasonable expectations during the vacation time and immediately return to your standard schedule afterwards.
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