No More Diets

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

How do you Lose 10 kg (22lbs) in a Month?

I wish I was able to wave my magic wand and give you a plan which would do just that. I tell you, I’d be a millionaire if I could.

But you really can’t lose weight that fast without doing a “Biggest Loser”and dedicating your whole life to losing weight. And my take on that is that there’s no point in even trying because:-

a) you’ll ruin your skin losing weight so fast
b) you’re not learning how to change your lifestyle so you’ll put it right back on again
c) you may be permanently damaging your metabolism so that you put weight back on faster than ever
d) you’ll probably fail anyway unless you have a huge amount of motivation - like a camera stuck in your face the whole time.

Best way to lose weight is sensibly, I’m afraid - a little amount each week while permanently changing your eating habits so that you lose weight AND keep it off.

Once you have lost weight how do you keep it off?

When you go on a diet there is a major challenge to overcome when you hit your target weight. You see, diets are seen as a temporary thing, a period of abstinence, of denying yourself the good things in life.

And chances are when you reach that happy milestone and you reach the weight you want to be you will go back to what you see as a normal pattern of eating.

The trouble is your normal pattern of eating is what made you overweight in the first place and therefore the day you reach your target weight is the day you start putting weight back on again - in fact, faster than ever because your new lighter body needs fewer calories to just stay alive than your heavier body did.

So my whole approach is different. Don’t bother to diet. Just make gradual healthy changes in your lifestyle - ones which you are happy to live with forever. Take up some fun activities. Find healthier recipes and foods you love. Learn to eat smaller portions and stop when you are satisfied but not stuffed. In short, learn to live like a slim person not one who is constantly thinking about having to lose weight. The weight will come off anyway without the diet and when it does you won’t have to do anything any different to stay the slim person you have gradually learned how to be.