Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind

For most people, the idea of losing weight conjures up feelings of apprehension or even dread. They think it’s a case of saying goodbye to their favourite foods, forgoing any social outings, eating dry tuna with a side of lettuce, and basically being denied any of the pleasures that come from eating in their usual carefree way.

This shouldn’t be the case. Not only is it unnecessary, it’s ridiculous.

Let me give you a scenario. You decide you want to save for a new car. You know it’s going to mean some discipline where money’s concerned. So you begin to think of ways to cut your expenditure each week so that you can get the keys to your new ride as soon as possible.

You start with the small stuff – like having night out and a few drinks every fortnight instead of every week, doing without those new trainers you had your eye on, maybe cancelling your subscription to the sports channels you never watch.

You feel a sense of achievement, and your savings start to grow, not dramatically, but it’s noticeable nonetheless. You start to feel empowered, inspired. And it didn’t even require much effort…great! But wouldn’t it be even better if you could move things along a bit faster? I mean, nobody likes waiting, am I right?

So you decide to cancel your Sky Tv; you don’t really watch it that much anyway. Then you begin to track all of your spending, those spur of the moment purchases in the supermarket, they have to stop. You’ve just run out of your favourite perfume, but it’s expensive, and your savings can’t take the hit. You’re doing too well to sabotage it all now! Next is the weekly outing to the shops with your friends. It always ends up with you buying a new outfit (do you really need it?), going for a slap up meal and than maybe a couple of drinks afterwards. You really enjoy it – actually, it’s the highlight of your week – but you can do without the cost. So you scrap it.

This saving craic is starting to wear you down. Your motivation is waning. Somewhere between having nothing to watch on television and nothing to look forward to on the weekends you realised you were miserable. Maybe that new car just isn’t worth it…

So you go back to your old ways, where money burns a hole in your pocket and splurges are a regular occurrence. Yeh, you drive a banger, but it’s better than being miserable, right?

The above scenario might seem a bit extreme to some of you. In fact, you probably would never resort to such measures just to have a newer car. But when it comes to dieting for weight loss many people adopt the same kind of philosophy, and thus, are destined for failure or misery, or both!

Beginning a diet with an all or nothing mentality is totally unnecessary and is a surefire way to set yourself up for failure.

We’ve all been there, a couple of weeks into our new regime. The weight is coming off, but you want the end result as fast as possible. So you cut out all your favourite foods, and the food you do eat is rationed into portions you normally wouldn’t have as an appetizer. You’re making it through the days, just about. But you’re struggling, consumed with thoughts of all the foods you “can’t” have.

So you give in. You were doing so well but it just wasn’t maintainable. Much like the analogy of the person saving for a new car, you may have begun your diet fairly sensibly, cutting out junk food, eating a smaller evening meal. But then your approach became more and more extreme, to the point that it just wasn’t manageable anymore.

In a nutshell, if you intend to lose weight and keep it off, your approach has to be sensible, and most importantly, measured. Just like you’d keep account of your money, incomings and outgoings, so too must you keep account of your food intake. Imagine your weightloss as savings in a bank. The ideal scenario is one where you’re putting a set amount of money away each week, while still leaving you with enough to spend on the things you enjoy, the things that make life worth living.

Likewise, with weightloss, the ideal scenario is one where you’re losing weight each week, a sensible amount, with as little disruption to your sanity as possible. “But won’t it take longer to lose all this extra weight?” you might ask. Well, yes, but sensible, gradual weight loss has been shown time after time to be the most effective way of losing weight and then KEEPING it off!

Make a food diary, learn to track your calorie intake, even if it’s just a ballpark figure. Estimate how many calories you’re eating a day over the course of a week. If you’re unhappy with your weight, cut down on the amount of calories you’re eating, or exercise more, or both. But start modestly. Make realistic changes, and monitor the results week to week. Adjust your diet and exercise accordingly.

Do JUST ENOUGH to see changes. This is key. Alter your diet JUST ENOUGH to reduce your weight by 1-2% per week. Do JUST ENOUGH exercise to help it along, to make yourself fitter, without hating the process.

Remember that, in general, the MAXIMUM amount of weight a person can lose in a week without jeopardizing their health (and sanity) is about 2% of your bodyweight, MAXIMUM. For a 160 pound woman that’s 1-2lbs a week.

Take a sensible, realistic approach to your future dieting endeavors, and reap the rewards. Lose weight without losing your mind!

This is Shane McDonald for Muscle Eire

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