The 3 Biggest Obstacles to Losing Weight

The vast majority of people who begin a weight loss journey do not reach their destination. The question is "why?" What are people doing wrong that lead to this? Does it simply mean that they have no willpower? Does it mean that they just aren't serious about losing weight? The answer to both of these questions is "no". Losing weight has nothing to do with willpower. It has everything to do with being properly equipped for the journey. There are obstacles that can interfere with a person's weight loss, and it is important to recognize them so that you can learn how to deal with them.

The all or nothing mindset is the first obstacle. This is a huge trap people tend to fall into. This is the mindset that tells you, "You should not have eaten that cookie. You've blown it now, so you might as well go ahead and polish off the entire bag." Or it may tell you "You were supposed to walk one mile, but you only walked 1/2 mile. Just forget walking this week. Start over next week and maybe you will get it right. And since you aren't going to exercise, forget trying to eat right this week."

Sound familiar? How many times have you started over on your weight loss journey? How many 1st days, Mondays and New Years have you declared, "This is it! I'm going to do it this time"? If you are like the majority, you have had many 1sts, but have never reached your destination.

Think back for a moment and change your mindset. What would have happened if, after eating that cookie you had told yourself, "Okay. I had 1 cookie. I didn't eat the entire bag. I haven't blown anything. Time to get back on track" or "Well, I didn't walk as far as I had planned on today, but I did walk rather than not walk at all."

Learn to recognize the fact that any movement in the direction you want to go is positive and will yield positive results. Stop beating yourself up when you don't do something exactly as you had planned. Give yourself a bit of grace and move on.