Weight Loss — The Daily Challenge

So I’m reading an article on maintaining weight loss, 4 Reasons We Regain Weight, and checked out the comments section when I finished. The comment below was sooooo on point.

I am astounded how much weight loss maintainance is like remaining sober. That is, I am an alcoholic and in order to stay off the booze there are several things I must do, either daily or weekly. If I don’t do them, I may drink again, or crave it. Weight loss appears to be the same for some people.

I found her comment to be a very good analogy. I don’t think people really realize how difficult it is to lose weight and maintain the weight loss.

Every day is a challenge. EVERY DAY.

I’ve only been successful when I totally altered my life. Not just what I eat or whether or not I exercise. Check out some of the reasons why below.

• There’s not as much hanging out with friends or doing the after work thing. Why? Because the all social activities involve food and/or drinks. (At least with the people that I know.)
• I have to go to bed no later than 9 or 9:30 pm. Why? Because by then, I’m starving and if I stay up any later, I’m gonna eat again. (When tracking calories in a food diary, it was this extra meal that was always the difference in weight loss.)
• TV becomes annoying. Why? The tempting and teasing of the food commercials ….. LOL. I’m serious. I start to crave things that I don’t even like just because the commercials make food look so appetizing.
• Less leisure time. Why? No more downtime because I have to shop and cook more. Fruits and veggies don’t have a long shelf life. I find myself going shopping about three times a week just to eat right. Then add in the time it takes to cook and do dishes. (vs. the usual eat something out or order in). It’s hard to find time to just chill, talk on the phone, surf the net, etc. And, of course there’s the recommended 5-6 hours a week of exercise for someone my size.

There’s probably a couple of other things that I find challenging when trying to lose weight that I can’t think of right now.

I know there are benefits to the weight loss and I’m going to try to focus on those more. Kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Have any tips for me? Put them in the comments section below. Thanks. 🙂