Why Weight Loss Is Not What It Seems

Diets don’t work. Exercise doesn’t help. Lack of willpower. These are all common myths that lead people to give up on weight loss efforts. So, why does dieting not work? If you are still reading this article, you’re probably one of the millions of people who’ve wondered the same thing. This article will shed some light on why weight loss isn’t as easy as it seems.

Diets don’t work

Most of us know that dieting doesn’t work. Studies show that more than half of the weight you lose after two years will be returned in five years. What’s worse, diets can also lower your metabolism and cause you to binge eat. Fortunately, there are many other ways to lose weight without going on a fad diet. Below are five reasons why dieting doesn’t work for weight loss.

First of all, dieting is a temporary fix. It doesn’t work in the long term because it slows your metabolism, making it harder to lose weight in the future. Also, many fad diets are unhealthy or depriving in essential nutrients, which makes weight loss more difficult. In addition, dieting makes you feel sick and tired and may even increase your risk of binge eating.

In addition to limiting calories, dieting makes you crave food that you don’t enjoy and may cause you to cheat. Many fad diets offer very little education about healthy eating and don’t give you strategies for dealing with cravings. In addition, most diets cause you to lose muscle and lower your basal metabolic rate. This is especially dangerous if you’re overweight or suffer from an underlying health condition.

Exercise doesn’t help

Despite what some people think, exercise can actually help you lose weight. It is important to get plenty of exercise, but this alone will not burn thousands of calories from junk food each day. Instead, it can increase your metabolism and decrease your appetite. The same goes for calorie-burning activities. If you do enough exercise and stay consistent with your diet, you can lose weight and keep it off for good. However, exercise should not be the only way to lose weight. A balanced diet and exercise should always be the first two parts of a successful weight loss program.

While exercise is great for your overall well-being, it doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss. Health is different from weight loss, and many people confuse the two. The result is a useless cardio-to-earn-dessert exercise model. But there are other benefits to exercising. For example, you can enjoy the feeling of freedom that comes with running. And if you are overweight, you can add exercise to your daily routine.

Lack of willpower

According to the dictionary, willpower is the ability to resist impulses and delay gratification for a goal that’s farther away. However, the human body is an intricate system, and hormones and brain chemicals control the way we eat, feel, and behave. Few of us have an innately strong mind, and the best of us can’t overcome the forces that control our appetite and metabolism. Thankfully, psychologists have identified many ways to overcome the lack of willpower that prevent us from losing weight.

A study conducted by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney found that when people exert their willpower repeatedly, it depletes their capacity to exercise it again. The researchers tested this by asking participants to choose between delayed gratification and controlling their emotions. The participants who performed the Stroop task were less persistent on subsequent tests. That suggests that willpower is a very finite resource. As a result, willpower must be replenished constantly in order to be effective.

Josie experienced great stress, which depletes willpower. Moreover, she has not yet addressed her habits of poor time management, feeling the need to be perfect, and adopting an ‘all-or-nothing’ mindset. This means that she has fallen into a pattern of self-sabotage that has been ingrained in her. Josie promised herself to be stronger the next day, but her lack of willpower resulted in her binge.

Lack of motivation

Finding motivation for weight loss is an ongoing battle for many of us. In fact, the term itself may be an oxymoron. Motivation is the desire to perform voluntary actions. Regardless of the specific situation, motivation is essential for weight loss success. Motivation is only the initial spark that sparks change; keeping it up is often as hard as finding it. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome this mental hurdle. Continue reading to learn how to overcome lack of motivation for weight loss.

First, consider that motivation for weight loss is much like the fuel that powers your car. You must prevent it from running low or your motivation tank will empty. According to clinical psychologist Joshua C. Klapow, author of Living SMART, motivation is like fuel. We need to prevent the tank from running empty and instead focus on making healthy choices. Most of us mistake a drop in motivation for a failure and instead use it to justify not pursuing our weight loss goals.