Losing at Losing Weight
Date: 02 September 2010
Tags: Weight Loss, health, behaviour, success, habit-changing, Articles, petecohen.tv, habit-breaking
Tags: Weight Loss, health, behaviour, success, habit-changing, Articles, petecohen.tv, habit-breaking
Why is losing weight so difficult for people and how many times have people tried to lose weight to only fail and then put the weight back on again ?
The answers to these questions are complex and there are many different factors, but in this article I want to focus on just how the two words “losing weight” can be a recipe for disaster.
I have spent the last twenty years of my life helping people not only with weight loss but, more importantly, keep it off. I have come into contact with literally thousands of people through courses I have run, books I have written and my on-line programmes. I have learned so much from working with everyday people and I want to share with you one of the biggest observations I have made during this time.
The reason most people struggle to lose weight is because they don’t enjoy the process. In fact they associate pain, denial and deprivation with losing weight. As they don’t enjoy the process, is it any wonder that they either give up or put the weight back on after they have succeeded in losing it. The other important factor is to address why we so many people eat. I believe the reason we eat is to stimulate our senses and make us feel good. Emotions like stress, anxiety and depression are very prevalent in our society today and more and more people turn to food to temporarily change their emotional state.The Western world is technologically advanced but our ever increasing waist line proves that we may not be as advanced as we think.
Look at these stastics from Blythman in 2006
One in every three Britons say that they do not eat vegetables because they require too much effort to prepare.
In 2003, Britain ate more ready meals than the rest of Europe put together.
In 2004, 40% of British patients entering and leaving hospitals were found to have malnutrition.
Is it any wonder there is a problem here as so many people turn to high fat, sugary and processed foods to feel good. In addition to this, the thought of exercise makes people break out into a sweat and run for the sofa.
For me, the process of losing weight needs to change as it’s not an experience that people look at as fun and enjoyable. Just look at the words “losing weight”. Let's start with losing. What happens to many of the things we lose, like our keys? Well, in many cases we find them and this is what happens to the majority of people who lose weight. They find what they have lost, i.e. they find the weight that they lost and put it back on again ! Also losing is what most people do in the long run, as they never seem to win in their weight loss endeavours by keeping it off. The other word “weight” is just as negative, as weight refers to something that is heavy and also "weighting" refers to have to "weight"for something to happen !
If we are going to make an impact in this area then we need to help people associate gain rather than loss with getting slimmer, fitter and healthier. The challenge with this is that we are a society that wants immediate gratification and we don't seem to think about long term benefits.
We have to change our mind sets otherwise the future will see obesity spiral out of all control
