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Ten reasons why you can't lose weight

YOU EAT MORE THAN YOU NEED

Yes you have heard this before, but as long as you take in more energy (from food and drink) than your body burns, you will not lose weight. This doesn't mean you have to eat vast quantities of food, small quantities of poor choices can tip the scale. To give you an idea, eating one piece of fried chicken in batter with a small portion of chips on a daily basis, can cause a weight gain of 0.5-1kg a week - or between 25-50kg a year! Fatty fast food is fast fat!!!

GETTING OLDER

As you get older your body needs less energy to keep going because your basal metabolic rate is lower. This means that, assuming your exercise levels don't change, you need less food each day when you're 65 than you did when you were 25. It also means that it is harder to lose weight at 65 than it was at 25.

YOU GO ON DIET

"Going on diet" implies that at some stage you are going to "break your diet" or "go off diet". Diets are about denial, but humans are programmed for pleasure. If you can't enjoy the sensory and social aspects of food and eating, then you'll eventually fall off the wagon. Try a healthy eating programme, like Weigh-Less Target Plus, and learn how to eat to manage your weight and promote good health.


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DON'T BE UNREALISTIC

You've decided to lose 25kg before a certain date, but your target is unrealistic. If your desired goal weight is below a healthy range, you'll have to starve to get there... and your health will suffer.

YOU TRY TO DO IT ALONE

Dieting can be lonely, so get the support you need from family, colleagues and others with the same goal. Join a Weigh-Less Group and you'll increase your chances of success because your Group Leader and the other Group members are all on your side.

YOU BELIEVE MARKETING HYPE

If you fall for marketing hype about weight loss products, pills, powders or gadgets, you'll be disappointed when they don't work. This negative attitude won't inspire you to make the lifestyle changes really needed. So recognise that if it sounds too good to be true... it is too good to be true.

YOU ARE INACTIVE

Eating is only one part of a lifestyle plan to manage your weight. A little sweat is also needed to lose weight and keep it off. Make sure you like the exercise you do, because you have to keep at it for you to benefit.

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YOU WERE A FAT TEENAGER

80% of people who were obese as adolescents remain obese as adults. This doesn't mean you can't lose weight as an adult, but it may mean that you have to try harder than your friends who were lean when they were teens.

YOU STOP SMOKING AND USE IT AS AN EXCUSE

Many people who stop smoking gain weight, but most return to their normal weight within a year. This weight gain is due to snacking when they crave a cigarette. Smokers who quit and who take up exercise can gain as little as one kilogram within the first year.

YOU ARE A WOMAN

Woman gain weight more easily then men... they also find it more difficult to lose weight than men, partly due to women having a lower muscle mass. Girls who are younger when they have their first period are more likely to be overweight as adults, and many women gain excess weight during pregnancy and never lose it all.

Losing weight is not always going to be particularly easy, especially when it seems like there is so much stakes against us. However, with just a little dedication and gritting those teeth, it can be done. At Weight-Less, we equip you with all you need, but it's up to you to make those life changes and get healthy!

With acknowledgement Weigh-Less Magazine
(October/November 2006 P.58)

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