What’s So Hard About Weight Loss?
Updated: Dec 14, 2019
By Ashley Williams
EVERYTHING IS HARD ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT!! No, I’m kidding, but there are some moments when I want to shove fries and candy bars down my throat. There are moments when I want the bed to hold me hostage for the whole day. There are times when I want to drink sodas by the gallon, eat the juiciest burgers at every single meal, eat a gallon of cookies and cream ice cream, and chomp on so many bags of Lays Dill Pickle chips and never become overweight or feel bad about any of it. Oh wait! And never, ever exercise and eat so many wonderful carbs and sugar for the rest of my life.
But of course, there has to be balance that many people (such as myself) have seemed to forget about. I think that is what happened to me…I think. I used to be small and petite until I was about 22 years old. I never thought my lifestyle of eating whatever I wanted would catch up to me, but here I am boring you with a weight loss blog. (I seriously hope I’m not boring you) Over the course of 7 years, I gained about 60-70 pounds. It is almost like my life slowed down. I could have lost weight and maintained it when I started gaining weight but I really didn’t know how. Or I just didn’t want to. I never had to lose weight before because I thought I could get away with eating whatever I wanted. When I started to work on my weight, I was surprised at how hard it was. But why is it hard?
Just imagine having to lead a different lifestyle from the comfortable one you are used to. Imagine eating 1200 to 1500 calories a day from the 2500 calorie day you are accustomed to. And here is the best part: Imagine getting off the couch to go to the gym when you are used to binge watching shows for hours. The hard part of weight loss is the change of habits. I have read and heard from many sources that building a habit takes 21 days. With this being said, you will have to focus on better habits of living for 21 days or just focus on eliminating unhealthy habits forever. The act of changing your habits may come with mixed emotions but your motive for changing your habit could come with a better attitude.
Nobody wants to talk about the mood swings and anger that comes with making necessary changes. I remember the many times I started losing weight; I would have the ultimate attitude with EVERYONE. My poor husband got the worst of it. (Sorry honey if you are reading this) I would think of changing my habits in a negative aspect instead of learning how to love a better lifestyle. I would cringe when I had to measure my food and go to the gym after work…I would just go nuts when I thought about reaching for grapes and not Oreos. I looked at my weight loss journey as a chore and not a chance of living. I made weight loss hard because of my perspective. Your positive perspective on any change or situation could possibly be the silver lining that is needed. Changing your attitude can really help. No lie. Just recently, I had to change what I thought to be hard as something rewarding. Human nature will think of the losses instead of what is being gained from a change. I believe that we think negative about situations first before we think about how change can benefit us. Therefore, we are not happy to do the positive things that are needed for better structure.
When I started to get serious about my weight loss journey this month, I had to think of another way to approach it. The act of a journey is more than the work; it is the mentality. I’m not saying that my mentality about weight loss changed overnight, however, I had to practice seeing the positivity. When I would workout, I would think about how I am adding more years to my life. I would think about how I am helping my heart and how I am sexyifying my body. Yes, I said sexyifying. No, I don’t know if it’s a word. I would gain the confidence that I once had and gain happiness again. I would GAIN more than I lose. Except pounds. For a while, I will be giving up the fast food places, eating junk food, being lazy, etc. Instead of thinking about giving up my old habits, I will focus on making new habits; habits that I know will better my health and add more years to my life. I will be adding habits that will eventually help me to have a healthy pregnancy and healthy children. I will be adding more years with my husband.
Forget the treadmill and eating salads with lean meat; how dirty is your attitude when it comes to weight loss? Am I exercising for my life or for a honey bun? I can’t tell you the many times I would work out and reward myself with the fattiest foods. My mindset was to give myself a pat on the back for wanting to live for 45 minutes and then I’ll go back to wanting heart disease and diabetes right after my workout. This time around, I would reward my body with a healthy snack or a healthy dinner. This was not easy to do at first. I had to have enough confidence and willpower to believe in myself to accomplish goals and give it my all. I had to tell myself that I was worth another shot at living. I have so much encouragement from my parents and siblings, a few aunts and uncles, and of course, my darling husband. However much support and encouragement I received, I still needed to encourage myself and believe in me.
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