Losing The Weight And Keeping It Off

Dec. 20, 2011 - PRLog -- Losing The Weight and Keeping It Off

Losing the weight and keeping it usually does mean some lifestyle changes, but just making lifestyle changes doesn't always work if there are other underlying reasons why you may be overweight.  We all have reasons we eat besides being hungry.  For some, these reasons can get to the point of causing someone to be overweight.  Losing the weight and keeping it off requires one to investigate their eating patterns and areas where self discipline might be challenging, then find ways to redirect yourself.

Eating Patterns

So in developing a plan to lose weight and keep it off, first look at your eating patterns and whether you are eating for other reasons other than hunger.  This may be:
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•Habit.  You always eat at a certain time whether hungry or not.  This is not always a bad thing though.  This is a topic of another article.  Maybe you just like food and have gotten into bad habits of eating too much or the wrong things consistently.  Maybe you developed a habit of buying a latte on the way to work every day.
•Boredom.  If people are bored, eating just gives them something to do and its pleasurable.  
•Depression.  When some people get down (or stressed), they eat “comfort” foods for the little bit of enjoyment they get out of it.  If this is a daily thing, then it can lead to weight gain.
•Convenience.  Many eat the wrong things and gain weight because it is more convenient just to snack rather than cook a healthy meal. Grabbing a fast food meal on their way home from work is just more convenient and takes less energy after your day.    
•Influence.  Some people will eat just because their spouse is eating.  If the spouse’s eating pattern is not healthy, than sometimes the wife or husband will just follow that pattern.
•Enabler.  Sometimes a spouse will finish part of their meal, be full, then push over the rest of their food to their spouse and encourage them to finish their plate.  This is called “enabling.”  
•Temptation.  If we have access to food all the time or the wrong kinds of foods, this can be a strong temptation.  It can take some discipline not to graze all day.  
•Physical.  There are sometimes health problems that can be contributing to being overweight.  Make sure to talk with your doctor about these concerns.
•Psychological. There are people who carry deep emotional wounds from years past, often related to abuse.  Sometimes people with these scars will actually self sabotage themselves for various reasons and being overweight is connected with that.  This can be a complex thing.  If you feel this could be a reason for you, please seek professional counseling to help heal any of these past hurts.  

Solutions To Losing The Weight And Keeping It Off

Losing the weight and keeping it off necessitates discovering the reasons for being overweight and addressing each of them.  Use the list above to think about what it is for you.  In going through the list, you may think of other things that might be contributing.  If you know or even think something might be the reason, write it down.  Then write down next to it a solution that may work for you.  For some things, you might need to get a little creative.  If possible, when you are developing these solutions, try to make it enjoyable also, so you will be more apt to stick to it.  If one solution isn’t effective, try another.   For example, if you realize that  you have the habit of watching TV in the evening before bed and you tend to eat the whole time.  Your solution might be not to deprive yourself of that pleasure, but just altering it.  It could be not eating a dessert right after dinner, but saving the dessert until you are settled watching TV or possibly researching healthier snacks that are available that you would still enjoy and only being able to eat that when you are watching TV in the evening.  (It is usually better not to eat within a couple hours of bedtime, so you may want to put a time cut off).  Maybe your solution is you can only have one snack after dinner.  Whatever the solution is for you, it should be something that is still enjoyable for you to increase the likelihood of success.  

When you have solved the reasons for being overweight, then your lifestyle changes and eating patterns will support you losing weight and keeping it off.

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I love helping people achieve their best health and create wealth while having fun on the journey.
Tana Osborn, RN
www.besthealthfunwealth.com