If you're struggling with weight loss, you know there are no shortcuts. One main approach to lose weight is to burn more calories than you eat. As simple as it sounds, it's actually not. It's not just about having time to workout or preferring a salad over a burger; it's about making a true commitment to your health every day, regardless of the ups and downs.
To this end, there are three things you need to look at to get yourself on a healthy weight loss track:
Your Environment
You can't influence things around you sometimes. At work, you can be surrounded by temptations-donuts, vending machines, junk food from coworkers, and the like. That's just one thing you've got to deal with, but what about your home?
That might mean saving some money on home gym equipment, setting up a section of your home for your gear, or ordering the TV a couple of times a week to do a video exercise.
Set up an atmosphere that promotes and reminds you of these healthier decisions. Even just coming in the kitchen and seeing a bowl of fresh fruit will be enough to remind you of what you're trying to do.
Your Mental Health
When you have other reasons to be overweight, maybe previous hurts that you've used food to help with stress or other issues, it's hard to lose weight. For many, food is a comfort and what they've depended on all their life to help them cope with emotional problems. It's important to pinpoint these habits and what causes them to become conscious of what you're doing and why.
A psychologist will help you learn more about emotional eating and how you can do so without understanding it. Be able to understand why you make the decisions you make and confront them.
Your Unwillingness to Fail
You're not going to be perfect every day. If you're a perfectionist, that's a difficult concept to accept, but we can't monitor any part of life.
On the good days, you're going to eat all your fruit and vegetables, say no to that pizza, and do your exercise even though you're exhausted. On bad days, you wake up late, fail to bring your lunch, eat an extra slice of cake at your friend's birthday party, or miss your exercise.
Bad days are going to happen if you are a human being. The secret is never to give in, even though you're messing up. Work to conquer the fear of defeat and realize that you're not a loser just because you made a few mistakes. You're just a human who's doing your hardest to make good decisions.
