Monday, August 24, 2015

Five Common Weight Loss Struggles


We all know weight loss is achieved through the kitchen right? The kitchen can be a very complex place which may be why weight loss isn't as simple as a fad diet or exercising off a bad meal.

Common struggles of losing weight include:

  1. Finishing what others do not eat
  2. Mindless snacking
  3. Not eating all day and over doing it in the evening
  4. Making nourishing choices until someone else has another idea or your normal routine goes out the window when you leave your environment
  5. You are tired and sugar is calling your name

If you struggle with one of the above, write down in your weight loss notebook how you will over come this obstacle. If you feel like all of these are your struggles, pick one to start with. Once you have overcome one move on to the next. Please do not try to change all 5 at once. Small changes lead to lasting change. That's what you want right? Lasting change so you are not on another weight loss journey next year?

Here are my tips for these common struggles:

1) Finishing what others eat.
This is really common for the mothers of small children. Give them smaller portions.They can always ask for more if they are hungry and you are not faced with finishing whats left on their plate. You can also save what is left over for snack time or their next meal. If they did not eat much of it because they did not like it, pack it up for your next meal if you really feel you need to not waste it.

2) Mindless snacking.
Be the observer of your mindless snacking - what time of day do you do it and what's going on when you are snacking. Find an activity to entertain your hands and your mind for when the snacking starts to draw you in. I like to grab a glass of water and sit on the floor to stretch. This gives you an opportunity to hydrate (we often snack when our body is dehydrated and actually just asking for water) and it lets you reconnect with your body (which reminds you of the goals you are working on).

3) Not eating all day and overdoing in the evening.
The night before or the morning of, have a plan for your meals and when you will eat. Meal prep, make time for yourself to eat during the day and change something about your evening routine. Instead of sitting down with an abundance of food, have dinner and go on a walk or play at the park. Your body does best when it is fueled regularly with time in between to digest. If you eat the same time of day every day your body knows what to expect.

4) Being derailed by others or changes to routine.
Build your willpower one choice at a time. Instead of saying "I can't eat that", say "I don't eat that." By changing your words you can change your thoughts.

Not everyone is going to support you in losing weight and place an awesome healthy meal in front of you. You will encounter some that want to see you fail because they aren't happy with themselves or motivated to change their own habits.

Being vegetarian gets me out of a lot of situations where I don't want to eat what is provided. And there's no harm in saying "I'm eating vegan right now to support my health" even if I'm only eating vegan for that one hour when I'm at that event where chances are there's nothing there vegan.

The foods we are addicted to most often react the most negatively to our bodies when ingested. Evaluate your reaction of bloat, gas, cramps, skin reactions, and emotional reactions and you'll have an easier time saying no to those foods that aren't helping you feel well. When you know you will be faced with a tough situation, prepare by eating ahead of time, and have your healthy go to snacks available while you're there. When you're asked "Do you want some? you're not going to have any?" take a deep breathe, pause thinking of how you would feel after having it, and respond as you feel is appropriate.

5) The sugar demon is calling you.
You're sweet enough, step away from the sugar. For those times you can't live without it, find a healthier replacement such as dates, figs, or dark chocolate. Make these a nice treat, not an everyday routine. The less often you have it, the more you can enjoy it when you do. Sugar is one of those things you go to when emotions are strong. Before you reach for the sugar, try calling your go to person when you need to talk about what is going on.

Enjoy a sweet treat without derailing your goals!


What are your particular weight loss struggles? Pull out your notebook, write all the struggles you experience with weight loss, from above or your own personal ones not listed. Choose the one you feel most motivated to work on right now. How will you overcome it? Write it down! When you accomplish it for at least a week or longer, move to the next while maintaining what you have created.



When it feels like a lot - breathe. Take at least 5 deep breathes and see how you feel afterwards. You will discover how deep breaths can help you change your perspective, and change your entire life, including your confidence in your ability to succeed at weight loss.

http://giveaways4mom.com/2015/08/meandering-mondays-114/

””http://spoilmyfamily.com/healthy-living-link-party-27/

41 comments:

  1. This is all super information. I find that I am tired and sugar is calling my name. I have to find like the articles says better choices.
    twinkle at optonline dot net

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    Replies
    1. Sugar is a very common struggle. Finding your go to options for better alternatives helps a lot! Over time your body gets use to your new changes and doesn't feel the sugar cravings. :)

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  2. I just started Weight Watchers and this is just what I needed to read today! Thanks. I think my readers would enjoy it as well. Consider sharing it at: http://oursimplelife-sc.com/our-simple-homestead-blog-hop-14/

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  3. Great article! I am terrible with not snacking. In college I loved to snack while study. Thanks for sharing with us at the Merry Monday link party. I hope you'll join us again next week! Sharing your post on Twitter!

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  4. Blessings to you. I appreciate the advice.

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  5. These are all great points. I find my greatest struggle is that my body seems to have an internal clock that operates on its own. I do great during the morning, but somewhere around 2:00 PM that sugar monster is on my back like crazy! Having healthy options prepared ahead of time has been a tremendous help, and something I look forward to - instead of waging the battle with myself.
    I also get tripped up by #4 too. I do follow your advice though. I have been more aware lately of how my body reacts to certain things. If I know I'll have a negative response to eating something, it is much easier to say no.
    Thanks for sharing such encouraging and useful tips (and the smoothie recipe - I'm pinning it and adding it to my afternoon snack list).

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    Replies
    1. So happy you found it helpful! Sounds like you're working hard to overcome your obstacles.

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  6. Great post. Thanks for sharing this at our party. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you on Monday at 7 pm, so we get to party with you again! Lou Lou Girls

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  7. Great post, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop tweeting .

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  8. Hi Vanessa,
    Very good article. You have hit the most common reasons why people over eat and given some very good solutions. I think sugar and mindless snacking or emotional eating are the 2 biggest problems. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Love your smoothie recipe - sounds tasty. Pinned & twitted.

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  9. I think Mums get caught finishing what their children don't eat and a little bit here and there certainly adds to your calorie intake. Thanks for linking up with us at #WednesdaysWisdom

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  10. I definitely struggle with 4 and 5. A diet is hard to keep up with when you have events that involve all the yummies you love. I try to remember to drink water before I eat in case I'm actually thirsty and not snacky.

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  11. Great post! I eat about every 4 hrs. Just a little something and I try to make it be healthy, but I struggle with having a bad sweet tooth. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  12. Another approach to #1 is to serve YOURSELF a smaller portion and eat slowly while the kids are eating, then finish their leftovers.
    ---'Becca

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  13. Oh my gosh...I do all of those things! When I'm trying to lose weight, these are the things I try to cut first, especially the mindless snacking! I'm also bad about finishing my daughter's food...that other half of the grilled cheese just looked so good today...LOL
    Thanks so much for linking up at Share The Wealth Sunday!
    xoxo
    Lisa

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  14. Oooh, I'm guilty of the mindless snacking. Especially at night when my hubby and I get together to watch a show.

    Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).

    Wishing you a lovely evening.
    xoxo

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  15. Hi Vanessa,
    Just a note to let you know that I have chosen your post as one of my features for Real Food Fridays that goes live every Thursday @ 7pm EST. Thank you for being part of Real Food Fridays blog hop and helping to make this world healthier.

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  16. Happy Sunday! I see that we both were featured over at the #SundaySocialLinkyParty I can definitely say that I am the oversnacker. Eating because I am bored and craving that sugar. Something I really need to work on. Thanks for sharing and have a great week! Lowanda of Sunshine and Elephants #sunshineandelephants

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  17. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  18. Hi Vanessa, it's my first entrance into your health and fitness world and would love to make my startup with huge hearty thanks for this type of super helpful content. When it comes to the issue of health hazards we have to consider many unhappy situation. I think the concern of loosing weight is top most one. Also it's funny and strange at the same time some of us art trying to gain weight and some of struggling to loss weight. I trailed to the end of your resourceful presentation and the five common struggles you focused was tremendously significant and useful for weight loss hunters. You totally made the term so classy and sweet read. Carry on the great work. Surely your fans and reader will love you more ever. BTW I also feel a deep insistence to share a article for the readers here considering its enormous help. And it's here https://ahealthyjuicer.com/resurge-reviews/.

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  19. Amazing post and I like this post. For weight loss you need to follow proper diet plan, regular exercise and herbal weight loss tablets also important.

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  20. A very nice guide. It is important to have a balanced diet, with the right amounts of different macro and micronutrients. Having a balanced diet plan leads to sustainable long-term dietary plan to lose weight and optimal health.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Weight loss is hard, no matter how you slice it. If you want quick weight loss, forever (not just for a few days), then you will have to make some big changes in your lifestyle. None of these changes will be easy, but if you're ready for this, then you will eventually reach your target. The best thing you can do is to hire a weight loss coach. A coach will be able to get you started on the right foot, and to help you to make small changes that will add up to big, long-term changes.

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