You’ve just got on the scales after the weekend/holiday/celebration…[insert the relevant situation for you this time…]

Oh ****!

That was a bit of a shock….again! Half a stone (or more!?) on since you last weighed in.

The scales have been creeping up for a while but you’ve been avoiding getting on them too much because you don’t want to know.

But now you know, and none of your clothes are fitting. You’re feeling sluggish, tired, fed up, shameful and desperate.

So you frantically clear out the cupboards and the fridge and order in the salads/shakes/pills, whatever the latest craze is…

You start again for the umpteenth time, trying the next headline-grabbing celebrity diet, promising yourself that THIS TIME you’ll stick at it for long enough to lose the weight, and keep it off, and never have to do it again…

….Except this is what you promised yourself the last time, and the time before, and the time before that…

You might change the method but the strategy is the same… you don’t have one!

It’s a knee-jerk reaction based on how unhappy and uncomfortable you are feeling.

You end up punishing yourself by completely changing how you eat and enduring foods you don’t like, removing all the joy from food and adding the stress of trying to follow an eating pattern that feels alien…

…trying to be perfect.

So it doesn’t last, and before you know it, it’s Monday again, you’ve got on the scales again, and are feeling miserable again. Even more than before.

And I know what this feels like, because this used to be me… over and over again.

 

What if there was another way?

One that met you where you are now? One that didn’t add more misery and more stress to your life?

The good news is… there actually is!

But first let me explain why you’ve been struggling.

The simple matter is we’re living in a world we’re not designed for.

We’re designed to eat more when food is available so we store the excess energy as fat for times when food is scarce.

Then when food is scarce we get hungry and seek out more food, while burning the excess fat.

In the world we find ourselves in food is all around us in quantities far greater than ever before, and tastier than ever before. So we’re never in a position of scarcity. So we’re not going to naturally lose the fat we stored for later.

We’re not designed to lose weight voluntarily, so when we try, our bodies and brains fight back, and it becomes harder than ever to resist the temptations.

I believe it’s harder than it’s ever been to manage our weight and stay healthy.

With two thirds of the UK adult population overweight or obese and rising, and how it’s impacting on our health and wellbeing, and our life expectancy, both as individuals and the population as a whole, you are most certainly not alone in struggling with this.

And what the future holds is scary, unless we do something about it for ourselves…

 

So what can we do about it?

Firstly, we need accept that we can’t eat as much as we want and be the weight we want to be, so we’re going to need to put some sensible boundaries in place and make some compromises.

Just like we do with how much money we spend – we can’t spend as much as we want without limitations and consequences.

Secondly, we need take time to understand the problem for ourselves before going straight for the solution.

For example:
• how much are we actually eating (not just how much we think we should)?
• why do we eat in the ways that we do?
• how much do we actually need, not what the trendy calculator says?
• how do we need to eat to get the results we want?
• how do we do that without putting ourselves in conflict with ourselves and being miserable?

Thirdly, we need to understand that we need to eat differently for life, and that this takes time to learn, as there are so many influences on our eating habits that we need to manage.

We don’t expect to be perfect at something we’re new to doing in any other area of our lives, so why should this be any different?

We also wouldn’t try to do something on our own that we didn’t know how to do. We’d get help.

So please, cut yourself some slack and stop trying to be perfect!

And remember there is no shame in asking for help from an expert …one like me.

Thanks for reading.

If you’ve got any questions about this article, please feel welcome to drop me a line at claire@youronelife.co.uk .

I always love to hear from my readers.

Claire x

 

About Claire Jones

Claire Jones of YourOneLife Healthy Weight Solutions, is a multi-award-winning Sustainable Weight Loss Coach, Mentor, Therapist, Speaker and Author of the popular book “How To Eat Less”, available on Amazon.

She helps people learn how to confidently manage their weight well for life, after successfully managing her own weight since 2011, following a 25 year yo-yo dieting battle.

With a career background of over 25 years spanning the NHS, HM Prison Service, and the UK Fire Service, she has seen first-hand what happens when people don’t look after their health, and has a natural desire to help and to serve those in need.

However, it was after overcoming decades of yo-yo dieting and learning how to look after her own health, that she found a particularly unique way to be of service.

She realised she had found an effective, unique and sustainable solution to the weight loss and regain cycles that so many go through, that cripples their confidence and holds them back from the lives they really want.

She is known for her relatable, down-to-earth manner and for helping her clients finally crack the code to their healthy weight and happiest selves.

She offers both standard and bespoke packages to work with her intensively on a one-to-one basis, as well as lower cost options to suit more limited budgets.

You can find out more about her services by clicking here.

 

Further Reading

Obesity in adulthood and its consequences for life expectancy: a life-table analysis

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12513041/

Obesity Profile: short statistical commentary May 2023

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/obesity-profile-update-may-2023/obesity-profile-short-statistical-commentary-may-2023

Maintenance of lost weight and long-term management of obesity

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5764193/#:~:text=Weight%2Dloss%20specific%20behaviors%20associated,meals%20compared%20with%20restaurant%20and