Why does losing weight have to be so stressful? Why is it so hard?
There are many factors. It would be presumptuous to say that losing weight was easy. It certainly isn't! A person who has to lose then pounds finds it just a hard and frustrating as the person who has to lose over a hundred pounds. Although the number of pounds appear as a vast difference between the ten-pound loser and the hundred-pound loser, the truth is the same frustrations are experienced.
Most Recommended Tips for The Inward vs. the Outward Influences of Weight Loss
I propose that we recognize the two major influences we have to "learn to discern" if we want to achieve our weight-loss goals.
To me, the two major influences are the "outward" influences and the "inward" influences. An outward influence is anything out in the touchable, three-dimensional real world like food, scales, mirrors, people, clothes, and so forth. The inward influences are things that go on in your heart, your desires, your thoughts, and eventually your actions. Both outward and inward influences play their own roles in losing weight. The key is to learn how to pay more attention to the good inward influence that will help you lose weight.
Below are some outward influences and how they affect your weigh-loss progress:
The scale: reinforces your success or failure every time you step on it. Lower numbers on the scale indicate you've lost some weight, but never enough according to your expectations. Higher numbers on the scale indicate you must have done something wrong. It doesn't account for water-weight, bloat/swelling, muscle mass, etc.
Most Recommended Tips for The Inward vs. the Outward Influences of Weight Loss /
The mirror: serves as our "critique meter", or something that reflects how the world views us, therefore, we must view ourselves that way too.
The refrigerator and cupboards: reminders of the "NO" ZONES in our homes.
People: when they know you are losing weight, they want a report on your progress.
Physical body fatigue: dietary changes, exercise, or worrying sets in and you become irritable or sad at times.
Food: new eating habits and healthier snack foods interfere with what you've formerly known as "normal", and the new routines are difficult to incorporate.
Calendars: timeframes you've set to achieve your weight-loss goals is nearing its end, and you are scared that you'll be a failure "again".
