When people decide they want to lose weight, they almost invariably go for the weight loss standard: they diet. And while dieting may be the most common course of action, why is yo-yo dieting so prevalent? Let’s see why so much lost weight is quickly regained and what other options exist to lose weight successfully.

Before coaching someone in weight loss and healthy weight management, or striving to lose weight, it’s important to discover the underlying reasons for excess weight in the first place. After all, it makes sense that if you don’t remove these obstacles from your path, you’ll end up right where you started, or worse.

So whether you are somewhat overweight or truly obese, can you define the reasons for it? Don’t use the old blanket excuse of ‘more calories eaten than used’ – what are the real reasons?

Are you an emotional eater? Do you reach for comfort foods when you’re feeling hurt, down, or depressed? Is loneliness taking over your mind and making you look in the fridge for friendship? When you feel the urge to eat something but you know you’re not really hungry, try to identify where that urge is coming from. Teach yourself that you don’t get satisfaction from unhealthy eating patterns, and learn to direct that urge toward something more constructive, like going for a walk or calling a friend.

Is it lack of exercise that has caused your weight problems? Our bodies have evolved over a million years and continue to change with each new generation, but what hasn’t changed is the body’s need for regular exercise. Your body has learned to store fat for times when nutrition is not available, and to burn muscle that is not used regularly, since muscle burns energy even at rest.

All of which helped previous generations who fought, hunted, and scavenged for food, but who don’t fit into a world populated with supermarkets and self-service fast food outlets. Start walking or biking, small daily ways to get 30 minutes of exercise each day; When you see how much better you feel, it’s easy to stay motivated and move toward true fitness.

Another common obstacle is a lack of planning or foresight when you go shopping. Do you think about the foods you want to make and have or serve over the next week? Do you make a list of the healthy ingredients you need to prepare those meals? And then, do you limit yourself to buying only those items when you go to the supermarket? Hardly anyone can claim adherence to the latter, however, in most cases when dinner time rolls around, we choose what’s on the house, right? So if it doesn’t make it home from the store, it won’t end up in your digestive tract. Choose wisely when shopping and follow the sage advice to never shop hungry!

These are just some of the underlying causes that people overeat and become overweight or obese. There are many more, such as cultural and family traditions, eating habits learned as children, even your own perceived body image as a goal and what you think it would take to achieve it. that body image. But the only reason or reasons that matter are the ones that get in the way of YOUR way of maintaining a healthy body weight and lifestyle.

Yes, in the long run you will need to find a viable nutritional solution that will allow you to lose weight and get rid of unwanted body fat while maintaining your strength and energy, but first find and fix the underlying issues for your weight loss to be successful. it is not short term. After all, don’t you deserve a happy, healthy life with energy to spare?