No More Diets

Why can’t I get below a certain weight?

It really depends what the certain weight is and whether you are trying to get below a weight which is a healthy weight for you.

If you have reached a plateau but you are well above your goal weight then take a look at How to break through a weight loss plateau.

If, on the other hand you are now a healthy weight but you want to get lower then you have more of an issue because your body is not going to starve itself without a fight - diet or no diet!

Sometimes we are trying to reach the impossible for the make up of our individual body spurred on by air-brushed pictures of anorexic role models in the media and you need to examine your goal carefully to see if that’s what you trying to do - it neither realistic nor healthy to have that kind of aim.

But I think there’s often a point which lies somewhere above that which most of us could aim for and be healthy - that’s often below the kind of weight quoted by insurance companies as a healthy weight (i.e. not obese) - it’s the weight at which we look our (healthy) best.

At that level we sometimes have to contend with the “set point” our body seems to have which is somewhere above where we’d like it to be.

The set point theory is that the body has some kind of automatic weight regulating mechanism -  mainly determined by genetics. Once you reach this set point in your weight loss efforts, theory has it that the body will do everything it can to stop you losing more weight.

If you feel this is the problem then you do have to make more effort to lose weight than you did in the early stages of your weight loss campaign and you will have to be extra vigilant in making sure that you don’t put the weight back on quickly once you reach your target weight.

To lose a bit more weight follow the guidelines for a plateau in the link above until you reach your target weight. And once you get there be sure and weigh yourself regularly and take action immediately if the scales creep up more than a pound or two.

How much water do I need to drink a day?

Common advice you’ll find around is that you need about 6 to 8 glasses a day but this does vary depending on how active you are and where you live (you’ll need more if you work out or live in a warm climate).

The main guideline to follow is that if you are properly hydrated your urine will be pale yellow in color and you won’t feel physically thirsty. If you’re getting dehydrated on the other hand you may experience the following

• thirst
• dark-colored urine
• not passing much urine when you go to the toilet
• headaches
• confusion and irritability
• lack of concentration

There is a very helpful article by the Mayo clinic outlining the facts about drinking water so I won’t repeat everything here. See this article on healthy water consumption.

Do remember that too much water can be dangerous - something you can forget if you constantly try and keep yourself hydrated by drinking from a water bottle all day long.

If you drink so much that you kidneys can’t cope then you can become very ill and even die. For more information on drinking TOO MUCH water see this article on drinking too much water from the BBC.

How can I stick to any weight loss program or diet long enough to see results?


Mmmh - this is the age old question because nearly all programs will work if you keep them going.

The trouble is that most of them are pretty tough to manage especially if you have any sort of social or family life!

If you live alone and never go out or have work commitments then you would probably manage much better but then no one would ever notice your new shape except you!

To increase your chances of success…

1. Choose the Right Program

Choose a weight loss program or diet which is going to be as easy as possible to fit into your current lifestyle and which offers some flexibility to cope with the type of situations you can’t avoid.

If you choose one with a meal plan - make sure you like the food. If you choose one with an exercise requirement make sure you’re not going to hate it within a week and that you have time to fit in the necessary workouts.

If possible choose one (like my own weight loss program) which has guidelines rather than rigid rules and meal plans.

2. Have the Right Attitude

Have an attitude that you are in this for the long haul - that you are not going on a diet but adopting a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life.

That way you are less likely to choose a plan that you can’t keep up for two weeks never mind a few months.

What changes are you prepared to make to your diet and you activity levels that will help you lose weight and keep it off forever?

3. Work on Your Motivation

Make sure that your motivation is solid before you begin and keep working on it every day.

We are all highly motivated the first day of a new weight loss program or diet - it’s the day after and the day after that which count most and make the difference between success and failure.

Take my free weight loss motivation course if you need some help with this area .

4. Mental Rehearsal

Think about where you have gone wrong in the past and work out strategies to cope with those same situations when they occur again (which no doubt they will).

Imagine yourself dealing with each situation in a different way and keep repeating this mental picture until new ways of coping with this type of scenario are fixed in your mind.

When the situation occurs in real life you are then much more likely to behave in a way which supports your weight loss goals than you have in the past.

How important is exercise to losing weight?


It’s pretty important because

1. it burns calories
2. it boosts your metabolism - even when you’re not exercising
3. it strengthens and firms your body making you look slimmer
4. it helps maintain skin tone and avoid loose skin problems
5. it makes you feel good - at least once you’ve finished your exercise for the day
6. it keeps you busy and away from the fridge!

and they are only the reasons that help with weight loss. There are of course many other reasons to exercise such as keeping you healthy, helping you sleep, boosting your energy levels etc.

All in all exercise is a GOOD THING.

Having said that it’s not ESSENTIAL in order to lose weight - it just helps. You CAN lose weight by diet alone. I don’t recommend it but you can.

What I will say is that if you are not keen on huffing and puffing away at the gym, vary what you think of as exercise. Find an activity (or activities) you enjoy instead such as dancing or swimming or ice skating and don’t let the dreaded exercise word cross your lips. Have fun instead of “exercising” while burning calories and losing weight

How do I stop losing the same weight over and over again and just keep it off? I can’t get to my goal weight because I start eating too much as soon as it looks like I am getting even close to my goal.

That’s a question I often get asked - “How do I lose weight permanently”. Many people manage to lose weight  but so few keep it off.

There may be a number of factors working against you here, separately or in combination.

1. There is the feeling of deprivation after “being good” for so long and the feeling that you deserve a reward
2. Boredom with whatever diet you have chosen
3. Rebellion against rules (even though they are self-imposed)
4. Seeing a diet as a temporary measure needed to reach a target weight rather than a lifestyle change
5. Self-sabotage where a person finds it a bit uncomfortable to experience the attention being more attractive brings.
6. Just slipping back into what you are comfortable with - your habits, how you look etc

It’s no wonder that more than 95% of dieters fail to keep off the weight they worked so hard to lose - you’re in good company.

To become one of the few who succeed, you need to

1. Choose changes to your eating and exercise habits which are you happy to live with forever. This generally means making small changes and getting used to them one at a time.
2. See weight control as a lifetime project not as a one-off goal
3. Continue to monitor your weight weekly (or even daily) and take action if you see you are slipping
4. Don’t set rules - make choices based on your own best (long-term) interests
5. Allow yourself to get comfortable with changes by going slowly and work on improving your confidence at the same time as you improve your shape