Be Zen About Not Losing Weight
If the dreaded New Year’s resolution to lose weight isn’t working out as well as you planned, panicking or chucking the idea altogether may not be the best strategy. Unfortunately, losing weight is a process, typically done over a period of time. Even though it may have taken days to put on the pounds, it will most likely take double the amount of time (and work) to take it off. Instead of freaking out and becoming upset with yourself, take a more Zen attitude about this momentary lull in your scale’s descent. Keep a cool head and take emotion out of the equation to regain your focus and ultimately reach your goal.
Contents
Steps
- Review your weight loss expectations. As with any goal, make sure you set a reasonable standards. You can’t expect to lose 30 pounds in a week and then become frustrated when you only lose five.
- Tap into an online BMI (body mass index) calculator (or use an app with your electronic device) to determine if you are within a normal weight range. Depending on how many pounds (or kilograms) you're over your range, calculate how many pounds it would take to get into the normal range first. If you want to go further into the normal range, make that a secondary goal.
- Know what is a reasonable amount of weight to lose within a given week. The general rule of thumb is that you can lose around one to two pounds (o.5 to 1 kilo) per week in a healthy manner, depending on how much weight you have to lose. The two pound goal is ideal for those who are looking to shed 10 to 15 pounds. People who are considered to be morbidly obese may actually lose more than two pounds during the week.
- Create a chart of how much weight you should be losing each week and compare it to how much you’ve averaged. You may be right on target, but getting frustrated because you want the weight to come off faster. A chart can make it clearer in a visual way that you're making progress.
- Consider what could be tripping you up. If you aren’t losing enough weight in a healthy amount of time, recall what could have derailed your diet. Typical weight loss obstacles include holiday periods, having company visit, allowing snacks to slip back in here and there during stressful periods such as meeting deadlines, not exercising regularly and keeping snack foods in the house within easy reach. Additionally, if you’ve been drinking more alcohol you could be packing on the pounds due to the additional carbs and calories. Some other issues include:
- Stress: Whether you’ve experienced stress at work or home, stress eating could be preventing you from losing weight. Identify the stress source and deal with it direct rather than hiding away with food.
- Boredom: Often people munch when bored without realizing that they're consuming a bevy of calories even though they aren’t hungry. Don't keep snacks within easy reach and don't eat mindlessly; drink water if you need something to put in your mouth or have a line of carrot sticks ready to demolish.
- Traveling: If you're having a margarita (or three) by the pool every day on vacation, you could be consuming more calories than you think. Those frothy drinks and high calorie meals on vacation will definitely sidetrack your diet. Moreover, eating while sitting in a vehicle can be a real trap, as you lose track of time and the amount of food going in.
- Temptation: In some cases you’ve thrown out all the junk food only to find that your husband or wife got a coupon for buy one get one free of your favorite ice cream and they've loaded up on it. Now it’s in the house calling your name, too hard to resist. In this case, have a chat to the other person about at least hiding it away from you, or not even bringing it into the house anymore.
- Re-group and create a new strategy. Let yourself come to terms with the fact that perhaps your diet isn’t going according to plan and that changes may be needed to recreate that "oomph" you started with. Find peace with where you are and understand that you have the power to make changes.
- Plan rather than panic. It's too easy to give up if you give in to panic and tell yourself it's a doomed cause. Instead, get back to the drawing board and write out a new plan of where you want to head next with your dieting. Include doodles, fun quotes, inspiring sayings and lots of colors to keep it light, fun and very zen. You're forgiving yourself and restarting your motivation at the same time, after all.
- Re-evaluate your diet. If you’ve tried a formal diet plan and don’t like it, you can make a change. Go online and explore the endless number of diets or weight management programs to see which one appeals to you most; just be sure to choose it from trusted sites though, to avoid fad diets. If you're unsure, take the diet to your doctor for his or her analysis.
- Begin again, as if you're starting from scratch. Even if you’ve lost some weight during your initial effort, consider this a fresh start from this point. Weigh yourself to gauge where you're starting and calculate a reasonable goal.
- Set small goals. Instead of saying that you want to lose 20 pounds total, set smaller, attainable goals such as losing five pounds in two and a half weeks.
- Track your success. Create a chart either on your computer or online to track your success. Seeing your weight loss on paper may motivate and keep you calm when you can track the process.
- Find ways to stay zen about the weight loss from this point on. Practice meditation or focus strategies to avoid getting overly upset if the scale doesn’t reflect the amount of work put into dieting. Sometimes dieters will plateau, which can cause anxiety but by understanding that plateaus are normal and that a little patience goes a long way, you can move beyond this seeming impasse. Instead of losing faith, refer to your chart and weight loss plan to restore the peace and calm and to reassure yourself that all good things take time and mature at their own pace.
- Try meditation or focus strategies to help you relax or go for a jog to get the endorphins (happy hormones) flowing. By staying relaxed and "in the zone", you're less likely to be focused on the weight loss itself as an issue and more likely to be focused on your life as a whole and continuously reshaping where you want to head and the kind of person you want to be as a whole. A zen approach to weight loss helps you to better understand that weight loss isn't just about calories and the waistline but also encompasses your emotions, your sense of purpose in life, your lifetime goals, your general fitness and your overall sense of fulfillment about what you're doing with your time. All of this is a complete package and trying to make weight loss seem like an isolated activity can contain the seeds of its failure but when seen as a whole, your motivation and application can be more aligned and will be more likely to be successful.
- Get support from friends and family. If you've been trying to do this alone, realize that social support is a must and that you deserve the love and care others you care about can give you. Enlist the support and help from those who are closest to you and whom you know you can trust to be supportive. An encouraging word or hug from a friend when you are feeling upset about your diet can be just the thing you need to make you feel zen and return focus to your goal.
- Start seeing exercise as an issue of vitality and freedom rather than as a painful obligation. The word exercise can conjure up thoughts of pain and dread for some, especially when coupled with weight loss. A zen approach is to be gradual about exercise. Start easy with the exercise you like to do, like short walks or a quick swim. And gradually build this up to longer walks, longer swims and perhaps a bike ride. And as you're exercising, allow yourself to enjoy it, including stopping when needed. Each time you do the exercise, push yourself just a little further until eventually, you feel the innate pull to do more because you're enjoying it so much. It will happen provided you persevere and trust that taking it gradually will succeed. Once you're into this zen approach to exercise, you'll be able to pursue regular exercise for a lifetime rather than treating it as a one-off.
- Be gentle on yourself. If you have a tendency to be hard on yourself, to berate yourself as a loser or to be a perfectionist, losing weight can be extra hard on you when you reach plateaus or stuff up. Instead of resorting to being self-negative, task yourself with being gentle to person number one (yourself). Every time the ugly thoughts about failing and never being able to lose weight creep in, remind yourself that you will lose weight because you deserve to, that you are a worthy person who matters and that you are special. Kindness to yourself is absolutely vital and is as zen as you can be.
- Laugh a lot. Watch funny shows, read amusing things and generally look for the lighter side of life. Being happy and content matter a great deal when it comes to motivating yourself and staying attuned to your greater goals in life.
- Don't take it too seriously. Some attention and focus on the weight loss as a goal is good but overdoing the focus is unhealthy. Keep it all in perspective and realize that this is part of your life's journey and not the only thing that you should identify with.
Tips
- Include at least 30 minutes of cardio at least five days a week to boost your results (consult with a physician before starting a new exercise regimen).
- Always reaching for sugary or fatty treats? These may feel zen because of their ease of eating but they're not. They're unhealthy and zen is about being healthy. Instead, spend a little time here and there making veggie snack packs to nibble on, as well as having healthy treats such as seeds, nuts (in small amounts) and fruit about the place.
- Practice smart eating techniques such as preparing your meals at home (as opposed to eating out more than once or twice a week), avoid snacking or eating meals in front of the TV or computer and consuming plenty of water.
- Consider joining a formal weight loss program like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig so you have a structured plan to follow. While the organized plan takes all the effort out of it for you, all you need to do is follow the plan and stay relaxed about the outcome.
Warnings
- If you become too upset you may make unhealthy choices to lose the weight. Avoid resorting to crash diets or unhealthy (or possibly dangerous) methods to lose weight. While some of these approaches may help you drop a few pounds, you will most likely put the weight back on while possibly damaging your body and putting your health at risk.
- Rather than eliminate snacking, reduce portions at meals and plan lower calorie snacks with more nutrition. Make those easier to grab and nibble than anything else.
- Make higher calorie occasional treats harder to get and a special occasion when you have them. Why not give up store-bought candy or cookies in favor of making candy or cookies once a month and enjoying smaller portions less frequently? Homemade treats taste better - it'll come out exactly to your favorite tastes.
- One of the best ways to do this is by introducing a new healthier lower-calorie food gradually, just one or two small servings the first week, then a little more until by the end of the month it's become a familiar habit. Choose healthy foods you enjoy like fresh fruit and favorite vegetables. Adding more fiber to your diet gradually will help stimulate faster digestion and an active metabolism. The pounds will eventually come off but in effect you're starting the maintenance diet before you get to your healthy weight - try to build your new habits as treats rather than feeling deprived. Eventually even your tastes change and former comfort foods may taste lousy compared to better, higher-nutrition content foods.
- Crash dieting can shift your metabolism to a "Starvation Mode" where every calorie gets stored against periodic starvation. If you're dieting and gain weight, that may be what's happening. Adjusting your daily calorie intake and activity to have about 3/4 of the calories needed for someone your height and desired weight will gradually get you there.
- Needless to say, indulge healthy cravings!
- Look closely at what high calorie temptations you glut. There may be trace nutrients your body needs that come wrapped in too many calories. Vitamin supplements and healthier foods may give you more of what you're really craving. A sign of healthy eating is having cravings for specific healthy foods like carrots or broccoli or citrus.
Sources and Citations
- http://www.3fatchicks.com/how-many-pounds-should-you-lose-a-week-for-healthy-weight-loss/ – research source
