Weight Loss tops the list of people's health goals. Many will fail and the dismal success rate of sustained weight loss are discouraging.
WHY ARE WELL-INTENTIONED WEIGHT LOSS EFFORTS SO DIFFICULT? Some frustration comes from all the impractical dietary advice to overweight people. One team of researchers believes that placing the emphasis on weight loss, as opposed to overall healthfulness, sets dieters up to fail. Often times, we care for others, better than we care for ourselves. This can cause us to seek comfort from emotional eating. At some point, failed attempts at weight loss or regaining weight, lead to feelings of shame, helplessness, blame and guilt.
BALANCE SELF-DISCIPLINE WITH SELF-COMPASSION. Self-compassion is treating yourself with kindness. We tend to be better at giving compassion to others than ourselves. There is recent research that proves practicing self-compassion works to increase your chances for success at anything, including shedding extra pounds and keeping them off for good.
AVOID SELF-CRITICISM. A 2007 study by researchers at Wake Forest University suggests that even minor self-compassion can influence eating habits. If you blow it, understand that everyone makes mistakes. If you care about yourself, do what’s healthy for you instead of what’s harmful. Think about what you would say to a close friend and say that to yourself.