There is nothing more frustrating than giving up some/many of the foods/drinks we like, purposefully exercising more and focusing on losing weight only to get on the scale and seeing no or very minimal weight loss. This discouragement will very soon translate into the “I GIVE UP” mentality, i.e. abandoning any efforts at all in shedding weight.
Sometimes the lack of results seen on the scale is because of several, seemingly minor dietary “transgressions” such as “only” having a “few” glasses of wine that week, “only” having derailing nighttime snacks several times, skipping meals etc. These minor transgressions can sometimes add up to the week not being very successful in terms of losing weight.
Our human nature dictates that we be “rewarded” for behaviors that we deem “good”. When it comes to weight loss, hopping on the scale and seeing 2, 3,4 or more pounds come off in a week makes us feel good. More importantly, we feel that the “giving up” of immediate gratification food/drink items was well worth the efforts because good results were seen.
This is the reason why I recommend Phase 1 of our dietary plan (high protein/high vegetable-no fruits/carbs/alcohol) when we start out. If a person follows this approach he/she will be rewarded with seeing LOTS of weight come off in the first several weeks. Clothes sizes will change, energy will be improved and other people will start commenting on the weight loss…all of these will provide strong motivation to continue the efforts to shed weight.
Obligate/dedicate yourself to strictly following the dietary plan needed to lose a bunch of weight quickly. Medically, it is much more important for the weight loss to be long-term as opposed to seeing lots of weight come off quickly, but psychologically, we all need to see results quickly. There is a great importance to seeing results for the efforts we are putting in to become healthier and happier via weight control.
Enjoy an ABBA song today…The Winner Takes It All
