The reasons for weight loss must be right.
So many people want to lose weight, but for different reasons. Some seek to lose weight for health reasons. They may have been advised by a doctor to lose weight because of a certain health issue they have developed or because they are in danger of developing a health complication.
Some wanted to change their lifestyle; they wanted to put themselves in the best position to avoid some health issues that overweight or obese people are prone to.
Third, others want to look good and feel good; they believe that if they change their appearance, they may change how they are viewed and received in society. They simply want to boost their self-esteem.
Lastly, some are after fitness and productivity. They want to feel fit and energetic so that they can be more productive in their day-to-day activities.
All the things mentioned may be legitimate, but that is not enough; they also have to be realistic and healthy. There is truth in all of them, but balance is essential.
If you take these reasons too seriously, you may develop another health problem. Some people went too hard on their eating, and in the end, they developed eating disorders. This is not the only danger; there are many more, but I gave you just this one so that you may know: the right balance is the beginning of good health.
Time is an important factor. It is a journey.
Rome was burned in a day, but your body is not Rome.
A cow cannot be fattened on market day, according to an African proverb. In other words, one meal does not make one fat, just as one day without food does not make one lose weight. Gaining weight is a process, and so is losing it.
The only problem we have is that, most of the time, when we realize that we need to lose weight, we have gone too far. The process of gaining weight is subtle; you find that, over time, you automatically adapt to it unknowingly. It doesn’t ask too much effort from you, unlike the process of losing weight.
So when we realize that we need to lose weight, it becomes an emergency. It is the reason any book or course that promises people to lose weight faster or with the least amount of effort sells more.
Because you are desperate, you have an unrealistic expectation of the time factor, which leads you down a dangerous path. But the best way to lose weight is to reverse-engineer the process. Give yourself time, choose activities that are easy to incorporate into your daily life, and create a diet plan that heals your body slowly.
The goal is to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable manner. And you can’t achieve this over night; time is an important factor. It is a process; it is a journey. As Warren Buffet said, “No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time.” “You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”
So, what comes next?
Lifestyle is a goal
Make losing weight a lifestyle, not just a three-, six-, or one year goal. Whatever we build for a lifetime, we build it slowly, with patience and consistency.
Treat it like your marriage, parenting, or building wealth. We work on these things daily. Strong marriages and successful parenting are not a three month process.
Even skills are not developed in a day.
You are unique.
As humans, we share many characteristics that distinguish us from other species. However, we are also so much different from one person to another, even if we may come from the same family.
The differences are everywhere, including in our bodies. Because we are all unique, even if we eat the same foods, our bodies process them differently. We may do the same workout and lift the same weight but gain muscles and look different.
It is important to know this because some of us have role models that we aspire to look like, but we forget that we have different morphology, DNA, and so on.//www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-people-become-overweight.
As a result, knowing what works for you and sticking with it’s essential if you want to be the best version of yourself.
You are different. Nobody can be like you, and you cannot be like anybody else. You may lose weight and gain muscle like others, but reach that goal differently and look different.
It begins and ends in your head.
Each one of us acts as a mental model in everything we do in life. Mental models are the way we perceive things and process the various experiences we encounter in life.
In this context, I want to know your food mental model, unless you become aware of your mental models in your life and discover how much they mess with your life. You won’t change a thing, and those models will always have an impact on your life.
It is the same thing with your relationship with food; if you do not change your mindset towards food, it will be hard for you to succeed in your weight loss journey.
The body will always crave whatever the mind entertains. Sometimes people eat more out of habit than hunger. Once you change your mindset, the brain receives different signals from your gut.
Recover quickly and keep on stand up every time you’re knocked down
Failures are part of our lives; here and there in this journey, you may experience some setbacks. Success is prevailing against setbacks; it is not the absence of setbacks. There will be times when life happens to you. If you allow these low moments to control you, you may find yourself losing focus on the journey.
No matter what happens, recover quickly, remain focused, and keep working. The weight-loss journey is not a straight line. But even crooked or wavy movement gets you to the right destination.
note; all pictures from pexels
