10 ways to sabotage your weight loss program

Whether it is ten pounds you’d like to lose, or one hundred, you are sure to meet with failure by following the ten worse habits listed here.

1. Don’t tell others about your goal.

2. Grocery shop when you are hungry.

3. Keep high calorie junk food in your house.

4. Eat out often.

5. Don’t exercise.

6. Use negative self talk to undermine your efforts.

7. Eat at buffets and fast food chains.

8. Hoard food in secret stashes.

9. Eat ‘unaware’.

10. Don’t count calories

The key to consistent weight loss is mindfulness. Being aware of where you are emotionally, physically, and spiritually are the guarantees to a successful weight loss program. So, let’s examine how the ‘sabotage’ list reviews against the ‘staying mindful’ plan.

Don’t tell others about your goal:

When we keep our goals to ourselves it is a sure way to reduce the accountability of our actions. Anyone who has tried and failed at weight loss, or at any goal they’ve set, knows that reaching out to others, breaking the code of silence, and bringing in a support group will create a sense of responsibility to oneself and the person(s) that shares the ‘secret’. Remember: some secrets are worth sharing.

+ Some popular weight loss support groups include: Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and Tops.

Grocery shop when you are hungry:

Studies have shown that the worse time to shop for groceries is when you have an empty stomach. Not only will you buy appealing, off limit items, such as gooey bakery items or bags of munchies, but you increase your chance to over buy.

+ If you want your body, and NOT your wallet to get thin, shop after a nutritious meal or snack.

Keep high calorie junk food in your house:

The selections you make at the supermarket can make all of the difference in a successful or self sabotaging weight loss program. Plan a menu for the week or month, list the ingredients needed for cooking and stick to it when you are in the store.

+If you don’t see it, you won’t eat it…so keep it in the store and out of your house.

 

Eat out often:

 

As tempting as this may be it is another guarantee for weight loss havoc.  If you are not the cook behind the meal how do you know which ingredients are going in to your meal, not to mention portion control?  Can you be certain you will have the will power to avoid the bread basket, as it is set on your table; the heavy sauces and gravies on your plate or the extras at the salad bar?  Can you pass up desert if everyone else at your table has ordered something?  And, how about the calories in the soft drink or alcoholic beverage one is tempted to order while ‘eating out’. 

 

+Don’t lose an opportunity to stay steadfast to your weight loss program by dining out regularly.

 

Don’t exercise:

 

It is a known fact that exercise burns calories and calories burned = weight loss.  Whatever you do, don’t believe the ads that encourage people to lose weight the ‘easy’ way.  It is a hook and will only allow you to continue believing, falsely that you don’t have to work hard to achieve your goals.  Sure, it may take awhile to get into the exercise regime, but claims of weight loss from pills, sweat belts, and other gimmicks are merely that: temporary gimmicks.

 

+Give yourself the credit for being able to achieve your goals through old fashioned exercise.

Use negative self talk to undermine your efforts.

There is nothing more sabotaging than being around a person who does not want to see someone succeed, EXCEPT when that someone happens to be your own self. If you fill your head with negative self talk such as, “you can’t… you won’t… you’re too ______ (fill in the blank here with your favorite derogatory words: stupid, lazy, fat, unmotivated, etc) then you are bound to fail. Stop the negative chatter when it begins and don’t allow it to occupy space in your head.

+Become your own advocate for your success. Be a friend, a coach, a cheerleader for YOU.

Eat at buffets and fast food chains:

If you desire success in your weight loss program avoid eating fast food. Most selections are oversized, filled with ingredients that are unhealthy and loaded with sodium, (salt). In case you were not aware: salt retains water and water retention = weight gain. Another weight loss bomb is eating at all-you-can-eat-buffets. For one price, it is hard to turn down anything, including the desert table.

+What you put into your body counts…make your choices healthy ones, even if eating out.

Hoard food in secret stashes:

For some people food is an addiction, or at the very least, a compulsion. And, just as an alcoholic may hide bottles of booze around the house as an emergency stash, so does a food junkie. Therefore, it is important to stop hoarding food and come clean with yourself. If you cannot cut your hoarding yourself then share this information with someone you feel confident will support your efforts in changing this habit. Keep the car clean of being a food hideaway. Empty the boxes, the bags, the nooks and crannies in attic, basement and garage and come clean.

You may need to join a 12 step program called ‘Overeaters Anonymous’. Or, you may want to read the book: Women, Food,and God by Geneen Roth.

+Being honest about your desire to lose weight is the first step toward a healthy weight.

Eat Unaware:

The difference between success and failure is the amount of attention or awareness we have on our goal. Mindless eating: in the car, while driving; eating while talking on the phone; or, while watching television are all ways that, while engrossed in the other activity, we ‘forget’ that we have eaten. Don’t be distracted when you sit down to eat. Know what you are eating and enjoy yourself.

+Tuning into your body and knowing what its needs are is the art of Mindful Eating.

Don’t count calories:

This is simple math-one loses weight if one creates a deficit between what their body needs to stay active and what it takes in. Part of the equation is to figure out your BMR-basal metabolic rate.

The calculation for that can be found online by asking for a BMR calculator.  The online formula will do all of the work as you plug in your individual statistics based on height, current weight, age and gender.  Knowing your BMR allows you to calculate how much food you need to maintain your current weight at that level of activity, vs. lose weight by dropping 500 calories / day. This will give you results that you will be proud of.

+Counting calories supports awareness and mindful eating. It is a matter of healthy choices.