5 Ways to Sabotage Weight Loss

I think everyone starts the process of losing weight and creating a healthier lifestyle with the best intentions. However, within a few weeks or days, many people “fall off the wagon” and are right back where they started or worse, a few steps behind. Now they may feel like they failed, yet again, at losing weight.  Does this sound familiar?  I’ve been there myself many times.  The difference now is that I’m paying more attention and I am able to recognize certain behaviors and situations that might be sabotaging my weight loss efforts.  I don’t always have the discipline to correct these behaviors and situations immediately but just being aware is enough to keep me from falling into denial mode and pretending they don’t exist.

These are the 5 behaviors and/or situations that I have identified as roadblocks that can easily sabotage anyone’s weight loss and healthy living goals.

Relying on the latest fad diet. I have said this before, I will say it again, and will continue to say it.  Diets don’t work! Stop putting your trust, body, health and control in the hands of a flawed fad diet plan.  Take control over your own health through educating yourself on nutrition, calorie counting, portion control, and menu planning.  Create your own plan and lifestyle that is healthy and works for everybody in your family.  Only you know what your family likes and what will fit into your schedule. A couple books I recommend that really started to educate me about food and nutrition are Food Matters by Mark Bittman and Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink. There were more however those are the two I started with.

Not enlisting the support of your family. Many people jump into the weight loss battle without their main weapon, their family.  One of the reasons for this is that they are using some weird or extreme fad diet and probably don’t want their kids eating that way everyday or the kids reject the extreme change.  This makes me think if you wouldn’t want your kids putting that stuff in their bodies then you wouldn’t want to put it in your body either.  To effectively adopt a truly healthier lifestyle that will reward you for many years to come, it is important to enlist your family in the effort.  This way everyone takes ownership and is involved in the family’s health.

Creating a failing environment. Don’t make losing weight harder on yourself by having your kitchen filled with temptations.  If you know a certain food is your weakness, keep it out of the house.  That way if you want to eat it you will have to actually leave your house and make an effort to get it.  On the flip side, make sure your kitchen is filled with prepared healthy snacks and meals so when you get a craving or are hungry, you can reach for something that is not going to interfere with your hard work.

Expecting results too quickly. My favorite motto is “slow and steady wins the weight loss race.”  It takes time not only to lose the weight, but also to break the old bad habits that got you there.  It also takes time to build the new eating habits that will move you forward.  Many people try losing weight when a big event is coming up like a reunion, vacation, wedding or party, which means they want to lose weight fast.  The worst thing a person can do is to go into losing weight thinking they need to drop 30 pounds in a month. That kind of pressure is a sure-fire way to completely sabotage any weight loss goal.  Don’t wait for the big event to start losing weight. Do it when nothing is scheduled or going on.

Going on the journey without a map. Obviously, I am against any type of forced diet plan however, I do think you need to have some direction.  You will not move forward if you wake up everyday thinking today is the day you are going to start losing weight, only to stumble through not sure what to eat or do.  This makes it too easy to comfortably fall back into your everyday habits.  Create a plan that will fit into your lifestyle and write it down. Schedule in when you will exercise, research recipes and create a menu plan.  Prepare your menu ahead of time so it is ready for you.  Learn and master the tools that will help you create the map to take ownership over your family’s health.

These 5 behaviors/ or situation play a huge role in achieving your weight loss goals.  By recognizing where your roadblocks lay, gives you the power and control to overcome them.