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The least known weight loss mistake
One of the top ten mistakes that people make when they're trying to lose weight is trying to lose weight all the time.Let's face it: losing weight requires considerable focus and attention. Occasionally you may find - as I did - that a kilo would drop off here or there because you've been too busy to eat or you've been sick or particularly active, for example. For the most part, however, you'll be acutely aware of the efforts you've made to lose every kilo you've lost.
Because of the degree of mindfulness it takes to lose weight, it's important to recognize that you may need a break from trying to lose weight in order to conserve your energy. After all, losing weight and keeping it off is not a sprint, it's a marathon you need to sustain for the rest of your life.
Not recognizing this, many dieters crash and burn way too early. Fueled by conventional weight loss thinking that encourages continuous adherence, they focus on losing weight week after week, month after month. This leaves most people in a state of physical and mental exhaustion, where the prospect of losing more weight ends up in the 'too hard basket'.
If you've ever found yourself crashing and burning when you've been trying to lose weight in the past, you may like to try losing weight in shorter, more manageable chunks.
When I lost those 28 kilos, I did it in short bursts. For a week or so I'd be especially mindful of eating only when hungry, of getting those veggies and fruits into every day, and of being physically active.
Once I'd lost some weight, however, I'd take a bit of a 'holiday' and forget about losing weight for a while, focusing instead on weight maintenance.
Maintaining the same weight is never easy, but it's considerably easier than losing weight. You can afford more overindulgence: those times when you occasionally eat when you're not hungry, or when you eat more than you really need. What's more, you can afford to enjoy slightly more fun foods or alcohol without putting yourself off track.
After a couple of weeks (or months!) of being the same weight, I'd get tired of that weight. The idea of being a kilo or two lighter would become more attractive to me than the pleasure I got from food. And so I'd put my mind to it again, enjoying my food but being sure to eat only enough to allay my hunger.
Using this short burst approach to weight loss has helped L.B., a 34-year old woman from Wellington, New Zealand, to reach her ideal healthy weight. L.B. first contacted me in January last year telling me of her excitement about discovering my book The Don't Go Hungry Diet. Just yesterday I received another e-mail from L.B. with an update on her progress.
L.B.'s e-mail, which she has kindly allowed me to share with you, is a wonderful illustration of the fact that you don't have to be losing weight all the time in order to reach your ideal weight. You may also notice that L.B.'s excitement about the ideas in my book didn't translate into immediate weight loss. But that's irrelevant now, because in the end she lost 6.1 kilos in less than 7 months and reached a svelte 57.4 kilos for her 1.71 m frame.
From: L.B.
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:34:51
To: Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis
Subject: Re: Hello and thank you
Hi Amanda,
It's been about a year and I thought I'd let you know how it's all been going. It's been going great!
I started revising my eating straight away after buying your book, and I have to tell you that ALL my stress about food literally melted away overnight - and it has never come back. It took several months before I started losing weight though. In fact it wasn't until early June last year (so about 5 months) that I noticed any change at all. But during those months I didn't care! I was eating lovely food, as much as I wanted, and I wasn't gaining weight. Win!
In early June I took a 10-day trip to Singapore. I slept very badly while I was there, and learned that when I'm past a certain point of tiredness I stop feeling hungry. The only thing I could really do was ensure that when I ate, I ate good food - no great hardship in Singapore! When I came home I found that I'd lost about a kilo. I caught up on all that missed sleep and resumed eating as normal. I didn't regain the weight.
Six weeks later I had another bout of sleeplessness, accompanied by lack of appetite. I lost another kilo. I got my sleep and appetite back on track, and didn't regain the weight. This has happened several more times since then, and each time I lose roughly the same amount & it never comes back. The upshot is that at last weigh-in I'd lost 6.1 kg over the 6-7 months. My starting point was 63.5 kg so that's almost 10% of my bodyweight. 10%!!! How cool is that!
I suspect that over the last 6 weeks or so I've regained a little weight, and I put this down to my exercise levels dropping radically over my summer holidays. But uni starts back on Monday and I've already stashed my gym gear in my locker, ready for my 7am workout. My mind can't wait! My body's not quite as happy about it, but it will thank me in a few weeks.
Amanda, not only am I getting my body back in a form that I recognise, but I'm happier than I can remember being for many years. Food is no longer a constant nagging worry at the back of my mind, like a distant fingernail eternally scraping down a blackboard. I eat what I want, when I want. At exam time this includes several large chocolate bars. So thank you, really thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
I hope everything is going well for you too.
Best,
L.B.
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:34:51
To: Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis
Subject: Re: Hello and thank you
Hi Amanda,
It's been about a year and I thought I'd let you know how it's all been going. It's been going great!
I started revising my eating straight away after buying your book, and I have to tell you that ALL my stress about food literally melted away overnight - and it has never come back. It took several months before I started losing weight though. In fact it wasn't until early June last year (so about 5 months) that I noticed any change at all. But during those months I didn't care! I was eating lovely food, as much as I wanted, and I wasn't gaining weight. Win!
In early June I took a 10-day trip to Singapore. I slept very badly while I was there, and learned that when I'm past a certain point of tiredness I stop feeling hungry. The only thing I could really do was ensure that when I ate, I ate good food - no great hardship in Singapore! When I came home I found that I'd lost about a kilo. I caught up on all that missed sleep and resumed eating as normal. I didn't regain the weight.
Six weeks later I had another bout of sleeplessness, accompanied by lack of appetite. I lost another kilo. I got my sleep and appetite back on track, and didn't regain the weight. This has happened several more times since then, and each time I lose roughly the same amount & it never comes back. The upshot is that at last weigh-in I'd lost 6.1 kg over the 6-7 months. My starting point was 63.5 kg so that's almost 10% of my bodyweight. 10%!!! How cool is that!
I suspect that over the last 6 weeks or so I've regained a little weight, and I put this down to my exercise levels dropping radically over my summer holidays. But uni starts back on Monday and I've already stashed my gym gear in my locker, ready for my 7am workout. My mind can't wait! My body's not quite as happy about it, but it will thank me in a few weeks.
Amanda, not only am I getting my body back in a form that I recognise, but I'm happier than I can remember being for many years. Food is no longer a constant nagging worry at the back of my mind, like a distant fingernail eternally scraping down a blackboard. I eat what I want, when I want. At exam time this includes several large chocolate bars. So thank you, really thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
I hope everything is going well for you too.
Best,
L.B.
Over to you
Here's something you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.If you're in a situation where it seems too difficult to focus on weight loss, try focusing on maintaining your weight instead.
There's absolutely no reason why you have to be trying to lose weight all the time. In fact, extended interim periods of weight maintenance as you progress towards your ultimate goal weight can be of benefit by helping to wash out any trace of the Famine Reaction.
Additionally, by deliberately focusing on weight maintenance for a while, you learn what it takes for you to maintain a steady weight. This is a great investment: once you know how to do this, every kilo you lose will be a kilo gone for good.
You may ask, What do I need to do to maintain my weight? That's easy. Take a look at a recent period where you didn't lose any weight. Maybe you were trying to lose weight, but for one reason or another you ended up having a few more indulgences or non-hungry snacks than you planned and you didn't lose anything. That's how to maintain your weight.
If you kept a Success Diary during that time, you'll be able to see exactly how you did it. By continuing to eat and move in the same way, you'll most likely continue maintaining your current weight. By cutting back a bit on non-hungry snacks or other indulgences for a week or so, you'll start losing weight.
Remember, as long as you're not gaining, whether you're losing weight or maintaining your current weight, you're on your way to long-term success.
If you'd like to learn more about the short-burst approach to weight loss and the other nine of the top ten weight loss mistakes that people commonly make and how to avoid them, register for my up-coming Advanced Weight Loss Workshop in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane or Melbourne.
Take good care of yourself, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Amanda
Dr Amanda
Connect with your body
www.DrAmandaOnline.com
What our readers say...
"FREEDOM FROM THE MENTAL OBSESSION OF TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT. [What I liked most about The Don’t Go Hungry Diet is] that it’s not about deprivation! It makes sense from a biological / organic evolutionary sense. Hopefully I will experience the freedom from the mental obsession that “trying” to lose weight is. It focuses on having to tune-in & listen to your body – it’s not marketing something unnatural like processed “diet foods”. Genuine. I didn’t feel I was being given the big “sell” so to speak, more the passing on of “wisdom”. Your warmth and energy is evident. Thank you. "
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