Why Is It So Hard To Lose Weight!

Why Is It So Hard To Lose Weight!

Let me give you some reasons as to why I believe it is hard for most of us to lose body fat!  Before I begin with these reasons let me make a few direct statements.

You cannot keep Yo Yo dieting and trying extreme weight loss plans because they simply do not work and are unhealthy.  If you are buying prepackaged foods by weight loss companies then stop wasting your money.  I have been a Personal Trainer for more than 16 years and I do not know of anyone who has kept-up with these plans.  Not many of us can afford to keep buying someone else’s foods, supplements, or health products for the rest of our lives.  Why would we buy all of these crazy juices or pre-made meals when we can save money and buy our own groceries for less money?  If the so called healthy pre-made food products advertised were really that good for us they would not have such a long shelf life.  We do not need these types of preservative and or sodium filled foods.  Some of these companies even have fat free and sugar free chocolate brownies.  Why would we need this?  Why do we not eat a small and real brownie with real chocolate every once in a while.  We do not have to have dessert with every meal.

Most fat free and sugar free foods are filled with either lots of sodium or fake fats also known as hydrogenated or trans fats.  These are very bad for our cardiovascular systems!  We do not satisfy our cravings the right way when we eat or drink these sugar free and fat free foods.  They do not help our bodies self regulate.  Eating the real stuff in moderation is better and healthier.  Besides, we do not even know what types of chemicals we are putting in our bodies when we eat sugar free and fat free foods.  We do not know what the health consequences will be down the road.  Obviously if you are diabetic then you need to be careful about how much sugar you consume and when.  You need to check with your doctor and regularly test your blood to see what level your sugar is at before making food choices.

 

Here are some reasons why it is hard for us to lose weight:

 

Scale Watchers:

 

Many of us compulsively watch the scales and get discouraged.  Every week I get many calls from prospective clients all around Southside Virginia who need help losing weight.  Most of them tell me they weigh themselves everyday on their scales at home.  If you weigh yourself everyday you will notice constant shifts in weight because of lack of fluids or excess of fluids.  Sometimes our bodies can fluctuate 3-7 pounds on any given day depending on how much fluid we may be holding.  This can make us very discouraged.  If you are a young woman then you will see changes in weight during your Monthly Cycle and you need not be alarmed.  The solution is to maintain a healthy intake of the right amount of sodium for your body and be exercising regularly, eating healthy foods, and getting enough rest.

 

Fat Free and Sugar Free are Making Us Fatter:

 

We eat too much of fat free and sugar free foods.  As I mentioned earlier we are eating too much fat free and sugar free foods.  When we see a food item is apparently fat or sugar free we somehow believe we have a license to eat a whole lot of it!  Once we do, our daily calories shoot way up and we gain excess body fat.  When we drink a sugar free soda or have a sugar free chocolate candy we actually do not satisfy our craving for something sweet.  We still keep craving and end-up eating more and more of the sugar free stuff and gaining more body fat.

 

We are Stubborn:

 

Many use the stubborn old excuse: "I'm too busy"!  We keep trying our same old ways and only get the same old results.  How can we expect different results when we keep doing the same ole same ole?  I have had many clients start training with me and try to tell me what I need to do for them.  They somehow have all the answers in the beginning.  Many of them have said they will just fast and not eat for a day or two and lose the weight they want.  Well that may have worked when you were younger or maybe temporarily, but it is the fastest way to hold on to FAT.  Going more than 3-4 hours without food will slow our metabolisms and starving will not last.  Many times if we go too long without food we end-up chowing down and gorging our bellies only to lead to more body fat.

 

Denial:

 

            Many times I have people call me and say they need help losing weight but the funny thing is they say they do not know why they are so big.  They tell me they eat healthy and they do not eat much all day and that they exercise regularly.  Then why did they call me?  Why are they calling me if they already have their stuff together?  Once I start to dissect their daily eating habits they see they cheat more than they thought with junk food or eat in excess quite often.  Do not believe the television commercials that say “It is not your fault”, YES most of the time it is your fault.  It was my fault when I was over 300 pounds.  No one made me eat junk and no one made me start being lazy after dinner but me.  I was responsible.  Not my genes, hormones, environment, but ME.  It was my fault and I did something about it!  I stopped denying the fact that I was really fat and on a path of self-destruction.

 

Choices:

We choose whether we Exercise Regularly, Practice Proper Nutrition, get plenty of Rest.  We choose these things and choose to be positive…No one else does this for us. We have all heard life is a choice and that happiness is a choice and there's been books written about these issues but I am here to tell you that fitness is a choice and one of the most important choices we will ever make every day. It doesn't take too much time out of our daily lives to adhere to a fitness program. With my exercise, nutrition, and rest plan it should take 3 to 4 hours a week out of our busy schedules to combat most diseases and sickness is and disorders and disabilities that come our way constantly.

You are the problem, not anyone else but you. If you don't exercise and eat right and get plenty of rest you are at fault.

You cannot live off of junk food and expect to feel good because if you eat junk you'll feel like junk. You are in charge of you! Gone are the days of blaming others and throwing faults towards others. We are in charge of ourselves and we cannot throw blame on anyone else for our bad behaviors, for our bad choices, or for our laziness or for our inappropriate decision-making. We have to have exercise nutrition and rest as part of our lives.

Avoid These Bad Foods and Products!

I am a full time Personal Trainer and have been for nearly 16 years.  My main business is Personal Training in-person and online.  My In-person Personal Training is One-On-One, Small Group (Semi-Private) and Virginia Bootcamp fitness.  I also am a speaker and writer on topics such as Weight Loss, Obesity, Motivational Techniques, Bodybuilding, Strength and Conditioning, Senior Fitness, Outdoor Fitness, Home Fitness, Nutritional Planning, Diets (fads that lie), and many other topics.  I write for some of the largest and top health and fitness magazines, websites, and supplement companies.  I have written two books/manuals – “How I Lost 100 Pounds!” and “The Healthiest Weight Loss Solution Personal Training Manual!”  My latest endeavor is producing exercise and nutritional DVD’s, manual’s, & audio’s to help my clients and others.

I am giving you a quick resume of me only to say that in all these years and with the thousands of people I have assisted, help, trained, or advised and the millions who have read my articles I have never tried to mislead or lie to anyone.  Never have I written about a product, food, or exercise I have not personally tried or experienced myself or with a client.  I do not get paid to lie to my clients and customers.  If I did I would not be in business for as long as I have.

Please listen to me when I say to avoid the following foods if you are trying to eat healthy!

-          Most Doughnuts, Muffins, Non-Whole Wheat Crackers, Potato Chips, White Flour Tortillas, Cheese Crackers, Fat Free Crackers, Fat Free Chips, White Pastas, White Potatoes, White Pita Bread, White Sandwich Bread, White Rice Cakes, White Rice, Pre-Packaged Meals/Snacks made with white flours and processed junk or preservatives, Sugary Sweet Cereals, Popcorn, Fried Foods, Greasy Burgers, High-Fat Red Meat, heavily buttered vegetables, canned or dried fruit

 

-          Diet Sodas, Sodas, Sugar Free Juices, Juices, Expensive Sweet Coffees, Sugar Free Syrup filled Coffees or Teas, Sweet Tea, Sugary Sports Drinks, Sugar Free Sports Drinks, high fat milk, high fat cheeses, high fat cottage cheese, high fat/high sugar yogurts, margarine

 

 

-          Avoid high calorie creamy dressings and creamy sauces

 

You can however eat the following foods in moderation!

-          Healthy Complex Carbs & Lean Proteins: Oatmeal, Whole Grain Cereals, Rolled Oats, Whole Grain Breads, Whole Wheat Pastas, Veggie Pastas, Whole Wheat Crackers, Sweet Potatoes, Yams, Brown Rice, Wild Rice, Almonds (unsalted or raw), Walnuts (unsalted or raw), Peanuts (unsalted or raw), Pecans (unsalted or raw), Skim or Low Fat Milk, Low Fat Cheese, Low Fat Cottage Cheese, Low Sugar and Low Fat Yogurt, Eggs (preferably the whites), Chicken Breasts, Turkey Breasts, Turkey Burger, Chicken Burger, Salmon, Halibut, Flounder, Tuna, Shrimp, tofu, soy milk, quinoa, peanut butter, almond butter

-          Fruits: apples, pears, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, blackberries, apricots, papaya, mango, oranges, grapefruit (Not with Lipitor), tangerines, plums, bananas, kiwi

 

-          Vegetables: broccoli, asparagus, kale, turnip greens, spinach cold or cooked, romaine lettuce, lettuce, celery, black beans, green beans, kidney beans, soy beans, navy beans, black eye peas, lima beans, corn, lentils, radishes, tomatoes, olives

 

-          Water, coffee or black or green tea (preferably unsweetened), real fresh squeezed homemade orange or apple juice, other veggie or fruits juiced with a home juicer, skim or low fat milk

 

 

-          Dressings such as Olive Oil or Canola Oil and Balsamic or Apple Cider Vinegar and broth based no-cream sauces

 

The above is a quick punch list of foods to avoid and foods you can eat.  Please remember I am not perfect with my food all the time, but I try to be good during the week, then cheat a little on the weekends to help keep sanity and to sort of reward myself for being good during the week.  You will not be perfect, but if you try really hard to eat the healthy stuff and avoid the junk, you will lose weight, feel better about yourself, sleep better, have fewer illnesses, and function more appropriately.  Always check with your doctor before eating any of these foods if you are on any medications or are Diabetic or allergic to any of the foods mentioned.  Also eat in moderation and do not stuff yourself!

If you are really serious about getting into great shape and saving your life, then stay away from the above bad foods first mentioned!  Even if they are Fat Free or Sugar Free they may still be full of sodium, sugars, or fake Trans fats!  Your health is too important to eat this crap!  Would you rather eat some junk to satisfy an impulsive craving, only to get sick and die early in life?  Or can you resist the junk food urges to save your life and extend your years here on this earth to spend more time with your family and friends?  Junky Muffins and white flour Carbs are not nutritious!  They are sometimes better than a greasy cheeseburger, but they are still not helping you eat for better daily functioning and living.  You want to eat for a better quality of life, not just to eat low calorie and NON-Nutritious foods only to help you survive day-to-day!

Nutrition Tips:

  1. Always eat 3 meals each day (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) plus 2-3 snacks each day (Mid-Morning, Late Afternoon, and an Optional Late Evening Snack).
  2. Each Meal and Snack should consist of a Protein, Carbohydrate, and Water.
  3. Complex Carbs should be for Breakfast and Lunch, Fruits for Mid-Morning and Late Afternoon, then Veggies for Dinner and Late Evening Snack.
  4. Never miss meals and snacks because this will cause your metabolism to slow down and not burn as many calories or as much fat!
  5. Cut-out the JUNK (Except for maybe a reward meal or two each week) – Cut-out Cookies, Pastries, White Flour, Sugary Soft Drinks. High Sugar Juices, Sodas, Chips, Candy, Fried Foods, etc.
  6. You CAN EAT chicken, turkey, lean beef, deer meat, tofu, almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanut butter, almond butter, eggs, low fat milk, low fat cottage cheese, pork tenderloins, beans, brown rice, whole grain breads, whole wheat pasta, veggie pasta, whole grain bagels, sweet potatoes, yams, oatmeal, high fiber cereals, apples, pears, oranges, kiwi, plums, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, cherries, nectarines, tangerines, grapefruits, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, spinach, lettuce, collard greens, turnip greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, radishes, corn, peas, peppers, onions, and other fresh fruits, meats, vegetables, and whole grains.
  7. Use moderation.  Do not eat until full, only satisfied for each meal and snack. Do not try to stuff yourself!

 

By Dave Gluhareff