In a previous article that I have written here entitled, "The Challenge in Losing Weight," I have identified three (3) basic challenges that people who would want to trim down and get rid of those excess fat in their body face. The three main challenges evolve in:
- Motivation
- Reason
- Determination
In this article, we shall dwell on factors that make the person stop or quit from getting that ideal weight or factors that make a person stop from losing weight. We shall try in our utmost effort to provide possible solutions that would allow you to overcome these obstacles so you can continue to see the effects of your effort in losing weight.
I am not seeing any results
The first possible obstacle that one can face in their effort of losing those unwanted fats is the fact that the first initial steps would often display a huge amount of lost weight but then, after a few more trips to the gym, they start to see no results at all.
Health experts and dieticians would normally call this the plateu stage and this is something that often happens to people who are losing weight. This is something that I have experienced myself where every week I would be going to our company clinic to measure my weight. The first few weeks saw a huge improvement where I lost around 29.95 kilos but then, after that first big drop, I found myself in a plateau where my weight would just be going up and down between 122kgs and 120kgs and this has gone for almost a month.
I started to lose hope at first because I have been measuring my weight every 2 weeks and I don't see any drop or movement. However, I missed out on one important thing... the fact that my weight might not be changing because the fats are turning into mass and muscles. I then tried to check out for the contours of my body and found that my arms started to have form, my stomach bulges started to have deep curves.
I then told myself that I should not stop what I am doing and should continue and go on with my visits to the gym and lessening the food intake and continue with the no rice or less carb intake. I do admit that there have been times that I miss going to the gym to work out since I am working in the call center and there are really times that I am really sleepy that I could not wake up and drag myself to the gym.
Even if the results were a bit slow, I never stopped pushing myself to go to the gym to work-out. I may not have been able to go there daily like before, but then, every time I am able to do so, I found it a habit to still go even if I could not spend 4 hours in the gym, I always made sure that I would have at least 30 minutes of cardio work-out in the stationary bike and 1 hour to about 1 hour and a half doing the work-outs for my chest, shoulders, back, and even my lower extremities.
Setting Up Goals
One of the things that allowed me to push to lose weight after coming from all the challenges of not being able to go and visit the gym daily was to take note of how many calories I burn during my cardio work-out in the stationary bike. My goal was always to burn more calories, to ensure that I pedal at a faster speed, if possible to ensure that I remain consistent pedalling at a speed of 40 for the 30 minutes that I spend on the stationary bike. It was a huge challenge and there are times when I feel that I am trying to set ideal goals for losing weight.
Setting goals for weight loss would be one of the obstacles and challenges for those who really want to lose weight. Most health experts and dieticians would say that in order for one to ensure that they are on track with their weight loss, is to set realistic and achievable goals. You can't have a weight of 270lbs and expect to lose it in just a matter of 3 months. Some of the people that I have talked to whenever I spend time working out in the gym would often say that it takes for one to be consistent in their work-out routine in order for them to achieve the results that they want.
If your goal is to be consistent, you should be able to set goals that are very realistic that you don't end up losing hope and stop in achieving that weight that you want or that body contour that you want to have.
Another advise that was given to me by one of my gym buddies was to get a picture of the ideal body that I want to have. This is, in a way, factoring the Law of Attraction into your weight loss goal. The Law of Attraction was originally derived from Rhonda Byrne's book entitled The Secret which was again derived from Charles F. Haanel's Master Key System. Both authors discuss about how to attract something that you want to have in your life. If you want to have a lean, muscular body, then you would first have to see yourself in that state.
Stress Eating / Eating for Comfort
I have known several people who have told me that they wanted to lose weight and become slim but then, when you ask them if they have started cutting down on their food intake, they tend to give you several reasons why they should not. When I first lost weight in 2010, the first thing that I told myself was I would not be eating rice at all. I first conditioned my mind and prepared myself that starting from that day, all that I would be eating would just be the viand and my meals would not have rice along with it.
I was successful in the said mind conditioning and was able to totally survive eating my meals without rice. I ate more vegetables, took in lunch and dinner by just eating my viand, especially if it were meat. If I had chicken, I would opt to eat the white meat. I did not remove the skin but I often remove the fat when my viand was steak or pork chop.
I started to eat less, but I did not bother if I need to eat frequently. My father told me that one of the reasons why I became fat was due to the fact that I would not be eating one meal but then eat in just one jampack. I remember when I was in high school, I would often skip lunch but when I get home, I would eat as if I combined my lunch and dinner when I get home. Sometimes, I would even eat dinner when it is already time to eat dinner, therefore multiplying the food that I intake and then sleep.
Stress eating is also one of the things that I have noticed myself doing. When I get pressured or stressed, I tend to divert them to eating more or just eat anything that I encounter either in a food store, restaurant, etc. I have learned to divert my outlet and not focus on eating whenever I get stressed. In 2010, when I first decided to lose weight, I diverted my emotions, i.e. anger, frustration, stress when I work out. I ended up lifting heavier weights, doing more sets and repetitions of whatever workout I was doing. I found myself doing cardio in the strider for 1 hour before I lift weights and another hour before I go home. I actually found myself working out in the gym for 4 hours and then go home feeling so exhausted that I can sleep well.
These are just three (3) of the possible challenges that people who would want to lose weight encounter. It is actually good to take note and be aware of them in order for us to avoid falling into such traps. I would admit that I have not totally overcome everything and sometimes, there are moments when I slip and draw back to some of them. However, since I am aware of such tendencies, when I recognize that I am going back into the said traps, I would find a way of diverting my attention in order not to fall and commit the same mistakes.
Do you see yourself falling into any of these scenarios and traps? Then I challenge you to find a way of avoiding falling into the challenges of losing weight and persevere in losing those extra fats.
I am not seeing any results
The first possible obstacle that one can face in their effort of losing those unwanted fats is the fact that the first initial steps would often display a huge amount of lost weight but then, after a few more trips to the gym, they start to see no results at all.
Health experts and dieticians would normally call this the plateu stage and this is something that often happens to people who are losing weight. This is something that I have experienced myself where every week I would be going to our company clinic to measure my weight. The first few weeks saw a huge improvement where I lost around 29.95 kilos but then, after that first big drop, I found myself in a plateau where my weight would just be going up and down between 122kgs and 120kgs and this has gone for almost a month.
I started to lose hope at first because I have been measuring my weight every 2 weeks and I don't see any drop or movement. However, I missed out on one important thing... the fact that my weight might not be changing because the fats are turning into mass and muscles. I then tried to check out for the contours of my body and found that my arms started to have form, my stomach bulges started to have deep curves.
I then told myself that I should not stop what I am doing and should continue and go on with my visits to the gym and lessening the food intake and continue with the no rice or less carb intake. I do admit that there have been times that I miss going to the gym to work out since I am working in the call center and there are really times that I am really sleepy that I could not wake up and drag myself to the gym.
Even if the results were a bit slow, I never stopped pushing myself to go to the gym to work-out. I may not have been able to go there daily like before, but then, every time I am able to do so, I found it a habit to still go even if I could not spend 4 hours in the gym, I always made sure that I would have at least 30 minutes of cardio work-out in the stationary bike and 1 hour to about 1 hour and a half doing the work-outs for my chest, shoulders, back, and even my lower extremities.
Setting Up Goals
One of the things that allowed me to push to lose weight after coming from all the challenges of not being able to go and visit the gym daily was to take note of how many calories I burn during my cardio work-out in the stationary bike. My goal was always to burn more calories, to ensure that I pedal at a faster speed, if possible to ensure that I remain consistent pedalling at a speed of 40 for the 30 minutes that I spend on the stationary bike. It was a huge challenge and there are times when I feel that I am trying to set ideal goals for losing weight.
Setting goals for weight loss would be one of the obstacles and challenges for those who really want to lose weight. Most health experts and dieticians would say that in order for one to ensure that they are on track with their weight loss, is to set realistic and achievable goals. You can't have a weight of 270lbs and expect to lose it in just a matter of 3 months. Some of the people that I have talked to whenever I spend time working out in the gym would often say that it takes for one to be consistent in their work-out routine in order for them to achieve the results that they want.
If your goal is to be consistent, you should be able to set goals that are very realistic that you don't end up losing hope and stop in achieving that weight that you want or that body contour that you want to have.
Another advise that was given to me by one of my gym buddies was to get a picture of the ideal body that I want to have. This is, in a way, factoring the Law of Attraction into your weight loss goal. The Law of Attraction was originally derived from Rhonda Byrne's book entitled The Secret which was again derived from Charles F. Haanel's Master Key System. Both authors discuss about how to attract something that you want to have in your life. If you want to have a lean, muscular body, then you would first have to see yourself in that state.
Stress Eating / Eating for Comfort
I have known several people who have told me that they wanted to lose weight and become slim but then, when you ask them if they have started cutting down on their food intake, they tend to give you several reasons why they should not. When I first lost weight in 2010, the first thing that I told myself was I would not be eating rice at all. I first conditioned my mind and prepared myself that starting from that day, all that I would be eating would just be the viand and my meals would not have rice along with it.
I was successful in the said mind conditioning and was able to totally survive eating my meals without rice. I ate more vegetables, took in lunch and dinner by just eating my viand, especially if it were meat. If I had chicken, I would opt to eat the white meat. I did not remove the skin but I often remove the fat when my viand was steak or pork chop.
I started to eat less, but I did not bother if I need to eat frequently. My father told me that one of the reasons why I became fat was due to the fact that I would not be eating one meal but then eat in just one jampack. I remember when I was in high school, I would often skip lunch but when I get home, I would eat as if I combined my lunch and dinner when I get home. Sometimes, I would even eat dinner when it is already time to eat dinner, therefore multiplying the food that I intake and then sleep.
Stress eating is also one of the things that I have noticed myself doing. When I get pressured or stressed, I tend to divert them to eating more or just eat anything that I encounter either in a food store, restaurant, etc. I have learned to divert my outlet and not focus on eating whenever I get stressed. In 2010, when I first decided to lose weight, I diverted my emotions, i.e. anger, frustration, stress when I work out. I ended up lifting heavier weights, doing more sets and repetitions of whatever workout I was doing. I found myself doing cardio in the strider for 1 hour before I lift weights and another hour before I go home. I actually found myself working out in the gym for 4 hours and then go home feeling so exhausted that I can sleep well.
These are just three (3) of the possible challenges that people who would want to lose weight encounter. It is actually good to take note and be aware of them in order for us to avoid falling into such traps. I would admit that I have not totally overcome everything and sometimes, there are moments when I slip and draw back to some of them. However, since I am aware of such tendencies, when I recognize that I am going back into the said traps, I would find a way of diverting my attention in order not to fall and commit the same mistakes.
Do you see yourself falling into any of these scenarios and traps? Then I challenge you to find a way of avoiding falling into the challenges of losing weight and persevere in losing those extra fats.