Do Not Try So Hard to Lose Weight
I'm back with another of my Top 100 weight loss tips that I just added to the series as article number 34.
This time out I want to look at why you shouldn't actually try so hard to lose weight even if you think you must pull out all the stops to get to your goal of however many pounds less than you think you should be.
OK, that might sound very counter productive at first glance, but there's more to it and you'll see where I'm coming from when you read more...
Why You Should Not Try So Hard To Lose Weight
This idea of overly trying too hard to lose weight actually acting as a brake and holding you back is more of a psychological barrier than a physical one. When you set your sights high and then set about doing everything you can to achieve a tough goal, you may find yourself trying harder than you are mentally capable.
When that happens, your brain figuratively holds up its hands and calls a "time out."
Trying too hard often tends to lead to rapid burn out in any task, and losing weight is no different. You want to take it at a pace that is comfortable for you without overdoing it. That way you give yourself breathing space to take a step back every now and again and take stock of how far you've come, where you are and how much you have achieved during that time.
Having this breathing space, or leeway is important to your mental attitude. That's because it lifts any tight restrictions you may place upon yourself by going all out and trying too hard to do what you can just as easily do by not being so all out in your face about every ounce that you are losing.
Watch Your Diet
It can happen with your diet, when you try to restrict your calorie intake too much and end up practically starving yourself. Sometimes, it's better to work with a more structured and simple diet plan such as Nutrisystem or the South Beach Diet to prevent you from overkill while still providing you with a really useful way of losing that excess weight.
It can also happen with your exercise regime, for instance if you are fairly new to exercise and try to go all out with a high pressure, high activity program like P90X, or try and copy everything your favorite TV fitness guru does, such as a tough workout from Jillian Michaels. It's better to take things at a more sedate pace, of do something you enjoy like dancing to a program like Zumba fitness, for instance.
Yoga
Or go for something like a yoga based program such as American Power Yoga, to gain fitness in a more gentle and fluid way.
So if you think you are trying a little too hard and coming up against a wall, take a step back and take stock of where you are and how far away you are from what you want to achieve. If it's still way too far, then lower your sights a little and set realistic weight loss goals so the horizon is closer and your goal is more achievable.
If you are closer than you imagined, then that's good because you can now relax a little in the knowledge that what you are doing is working and you can stop trying so hard to make something work that is working fine just as it is!
100 Weight Loss Tips number 33 follows in the next post!
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Posted on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 in Top 100 Weight Loss Tips | 0 Comments