Cannot manage weight despite a diet – Reasons why your efforts may be rendering futile, how to fix it

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June 23, 2021

KEY STORY

Commencing on a dieting journey takes up a tremendous amount of motivation and effort. It is not as easy as it may seem. For some people, it may be a smooth curve, but for most, it’s an uncertain, shakey curve that starts from planning followed by procrastination and demotivation then again determination, and the list goes on.
People may have their reasons for getting on a diet but one of the most prominent reasons includes weight loss. Despite following a rigorous diet plan, if time and energy put in do not yield any result, it may come as disappointment and sadness.

Dieting mistakes and ways to fix it

Here are some things that you may be doing wrong with your dieting and how you can fix it:

Focus on what to eat and not on what to avoid: Foods that must be avoided must be considered, however, that shouldn’t be the goal. Some people find comfort in successfully avoiding a cup of ice cream while eating a bar of chocolate. This promotes weight gain due to mindless calorie consumption. Focus on what and how much you should eat to ensure healthy weight management and not on what you should avoid.
Don’t make the feeling of ‘starvation’ and ‘hunger’ the new normal: Feeling hungry or starving yourself in the name of dieting will only result in pangs of hunger and loss of control resulting in mindless consumption of food. This will affect the weight loss process adversely. To overcome this, include foods rich in protein in your diet to help you feel full and prevent hogging on food. Furthermore, forceful starvation can promote unhealthy weight loss which can be a root of health conditions and a weakened body.
Manage your stress: You must’ve heard of ‘stress eating. When dealing with stress, people may unknowingly end up falling into the trap of stress eating that may cause them to consume more calories than they have lost. This can affect the diet drastically and may even cause it to fail. Make sure to manage stress effectively while dieting with methods such as yoga, meditation, and therapy to ensure the effectiveness of the diet.
Be careful with the portion sizes: Calorie calculation is a prominent part of any weight loss diet. However, portion size can affect the calories and miscalculation of the portion may lead to excessive consumption of calories. To avoid this from happening, make sure that you keep an eye on the portion size as much as the food.
Don’t ‘just’ diet: Solely carrying out a diet has never helped anyone healthily lose weight. Physical activity is as important as a diet. Make sure that you’re exercising or working out regularly to make the diet work.