Permanent weight loss is every dieter’s nirvana…you’ve lost the weight and now you’re going to keep it off forever. But will you?
Ok, so you’ve lost the weight and that’s great, really great, but now what?
Time for a maintenance phase? A few weeks or months of gradually getting back to eating ‘normally’?
Eating what you like again. The odd cream cake, bar of chocolate, bag of chips…?
Hey, you’ve done really well (and you have!), you’ve lost the weight you wanted to lose. You’re back in the clothes from your slim wardrobe.
Life’s good again as a slim person!
But hey, do you really think you can now eat whatever you like and the weight will stay off?
Wrong! One of the main reasons people fail to maintain their new weight is a combination of complacency and a selective memory!
Permanent Weight Loss Effectively and Easily
Hey, you’re slim now. You’ve had all the compliments and congratulations from friends and family.
You’ve managed to steer clear of the high calorie booby-traps that lie in wait in every corner of the cupboard, fridge and supermarket.
You’re even beginning to forget what it was like to be fat. What made you fat in the first place.
Trouble is, living the rest of your life as a slim person takes some discipline and effort. It’s a matter of choice…consciously choosing to be slim.
Choosing not to be fat again is the key to permanent weight loss.
Permanent weight loss means learning new habits and never going back…
Back to the Old Habits That Made You Fat in the First Place…
Fatty, sugary food still tastes just as good now you’re slim as it did when you were fat.
It has just as many calories and will still make you fat if you make a habit of eating it again.
Be honest with yourself…do you really think you can eat just one chocolate, one slice of pie, one mouthful of cheeseburger?
You couldn’t when you were fat, that was the problem, why do you think you can now?
The problem with many diets and the diet mentality is that they’re task focussed. They’re a bit like books.
That is, they have a beginning, a middle and an end.
Some even have an epilogue…a maintenance phase when you gradually re-introduce foods that you didn’t eat when dieting.
You start at the beginning and when you’ve got the job done, you finish and move on.
What happens then?
What normally happens is that you go back to the old ways of eating that made you fat in the first place.
The shackles are off. The diet book and diet recipes are back on the shelf and all those wonderfully tasty fatty and sugary foods are waiting to renew their aquaintance with your tastebuds and waistline!
So much for permanent weight loss. You choose to forget how bad you felt when you were fat and instead revel in those delicious culinary treats forbidden to you when you were dieting.
I’ve lost count of the number of dieters I’ve spoken to that thought they could handle the odd donut, danish pastry or portion of fries.
Think you can control it? You couldn’t when you were fat, why do you think you can now you’re slim?
The weight gradually finds it’s way back onto your body and before you know it you’ve lost control and are on the way back to the fat, old you.
Quite often with the oft repeated excuse, “No problem, it doesn’t matter, I’ve lost the weight before so I can lose it again!”
Problem is, the fatter you get, the worse you feel, the more you eat to comfort yourself and the harder it is to get back on track.
Permanent weight loss is about making permanent changes in your life and to your lifestyle.
If you’re a binger, one mouthful of your favorite sweet or savory trigger food can set you off on a self-destructive binging session that could last for days, weeks or months.
So How do You Achieve Permanent Weight Loss…?
Start off by taking a look at your life and identifying why and how you went wrong. Difficult but very necessary.
Be honest!
I remember having a conversation with a client called Suzanne who had got down to her target weight months ago.
She’d always had a problem with maintaining her weight and it was no surprise when she called and asked for some help.
She’d regained 10lbs and was feeling pretty depressed about it.
When I asked her what the problem was, why she’d put the weight back on she said, “I’ve never had any willpower, I just can’t stick to eating healthy foods.”
Suzanne had become a victim of her diet failures of the past. She’d developed a victim mentality that dictated that she would fail sooner or later whatever she did.
Achieving permanent weight loss being a case in point.
Negative thoughts turn into negative actions and negative consequences.
Think you can’t do something and you won’t.
The thing is, Suzanne was a great dieter. With some regular support and motivation she stuck to her program and lost the weight.
Keeping it off was the problem. Developing a positive, winning attitude was a problem.
I got a call from another client called Lucy. Lucy had had a fantastic result and completely turned her life around. However, she’d regained 6lbs.
Lucy said, “Just had a few hectic weeks at work and partied a bit hard, but I now need to get back on track and do something about it.”
Lucy had a really positive attitude. The difference between a winner and a loser is that a winner overcomes the many obstacles that life throws in front of them.
No matter what.
Lucy simply recognized the problem, refused to let it get out of control and resolved to do something about it.
She took action.
The next time I spoke to her, a month later, she’d lost the 6lbs and was happily ‘slim’ again.
She’s still at her target weight two years later. Her attitude will ensure her permanent weight loss.
The Bottom Line…
Success or failure. Being a winner or loser whatever you’re doing is a battle won first in the head.
We all make choices that have consequences.
The fat doesn’t just pile on again of its own accord, leaving you a helpless victim on the sidelines.
You were responsible. You ate the food that put it there.
Face up to it, take control of the situation and make a different choice next time – this time – if permanent weight loss is your goal.
Instead of telling yourself that you can’t, tell yourself that you can.
And if you do relapse, shrug your shoulders and do something about it.
What did someone famous once say? “Winners never quit and quitters never win”.
Choose to be a winner and you’ll achieve the permanent weight loss that you deserve.
If you need a little practical help, check out our healthy weight loss plan.
It’s based on an easy to follow, sensible and fad-free healthy eating and weight loss principles. It’s not a diet, it’s a way of eating for life that makes permanent weight loss a reality!
If you want a more formal, long term weight loss program that will help you to change your eating habits for good, then…Get help losing weight with eDiets.com
