Whenever anyone starts on a weight loss plan, there are always high hopes and expectations.
And for people who have fully prepared and have the right motivation plans in place (check out our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge), they can often achieve their weight loss goals and totally transform their health and body

But for a lot of people, self doubt or falling off the wagon strike and they often give up.

So why does self doubt strike an why do we give up?

Problem 1

Many weight loss diets cut out food groups, advocate severe calorie restriction and are just too hard to follow so as a lot of people have done fad diets at some point in their life, psychologically they are preparing to fail as they have done before.

Solution

Don’t follow any weight loss diet which is a fad diet. Avoid any diet which says you can’t have carbs or can only eat certain food types. Follow a healthy eating diet plan – such as the Lose Baby Weight plans – which are nutritionally balanced, are created by top nutritionists, include all food groups and teach you about healthy eating practices so the weight stays off.

Problem 2

Many people have a great day or week and then have a slip up and either eat their body weight in chocolate or have an unhealthy meal then say to themselves “I have failed, I can’t stick to the diet”. They then give up and write their weight loss attempt off as ‘too hard’

Solution

It is important to know that everyone has slip ups. And one bad day doesn’t result on failure – or even one bad week! Weight loss is a journey and if you follow a healthy eating plan it is a transformation from unhealthy to healthy where you have more energy too.
It isn’t a quick fix over a few weeks and it can take 6-12 months to reach your goal. With all our experience working with mums on our plans, there has NEVER been anyone who has started on day one and then finished on day 90 without any slip ups. Some slip up for a day. Some for a week. Some longer. (you can see hundreds of results from mums here too)

The key point is to know you are human. To know that you will make mistakes but that to try and stick to a 80% following the plan and 20% treats. This way you won’t feel like a failure if you decide to have something you shouldn’t have.

Also it is KEY To remember how well you have done before any slip up. So what if you just ate a Magnum. Rather than loathing yourself, think about how great you have done so far, how stronger your body feels, how healthier you feel, and instead of giving up, drink a glass of water, do some squats and go for a longer walk the next day – which is a NEW DAY. The one thing you have to remember is DON’T GIVE UP.

Problem 3

The scales is without doubt a great way to measure your weight loss, but it isn’t the only way and some people can get slightly obsessed with weighing in and do it too often and literally let it rule their lives and then get demotivated if it doesn’t move one week – or if it goes up

Solution

Understand how the scales work and make sure that you take measurements too – see our guide here
As you begin doing exercise and light weight bearing exercise you will gain lean muscle tissue, a substance which weighs more and is denser than fat. So you may actually see the number on the scales increase. Even though the scale may not be moving, it doesn’t mean that you’re not getting smaller. Muscle is more dense than fat, so it takes up less space. You can be in a smaller pants size and not be any lighter on the scale – and this is why we advise to take measurements each week as well as weighing yourself.
It is also a good point to note that this extra lean muscle tissue has added benefits too – not only will you appear smaller, but muscle will help raise your metabolism too which helps to burn more fat – win win!
Have a look at Jess’s story here too which illustrates this point and see her picture below

Problem 4

PMT and hormones are one of the common issues which cause us problems when losing weight. And many mums have no energy, crave junk food and are in a bad mood which means weight gain and a feeling of demotivation

Solution

Preparation and damage control are the keys to surviving this week!
Bloating, cramps, swelling, mood swings, cravings, binge eating, and weight gain are all side effects of the hormones present in a woman’s body at that time of the month. Plus there is the very common side effect of   water retention which can send your weight and measurements off. During the time of the month our bodies hold onto fluids like a drought is coming and the best advice is not to weigh yourself at this time. Get our tips here on how to plan around PMT

Problem 5

Many people start their weight loss journey deciding to cut out all chocolate, all treats and try to go cold turkey! They then experience huge cravings – and end up eating all the ‘banned’ foods and then feel guilty, think they have failed and then the weight loss journey stops there.

Solution

Don’t ban foods! Instead aim for eating healthy foods 80% of the time and then allow 20% of the time to be more relaxed so you can have a treat. This way your brain won’t crave the bad foods as you are not totally banning everything and you will find the weight loss plan easier to stick to.
This is why on the Lose Baby Weight plans we have our portioned controlled dark chocolate treats – so if you love chocolate you can still have some when you are losing weight – but it is portion controlled and dark chocolate.
Plus we have pour Guilt Free Chocolate Treats & Baking Cookbook – packed full of healthier versions of Chocolate & Baking treats – preview the book here

Useful tools

And here are some really useful links and resources to help you refocus and get back to basics

1. Work out your BMR so you know how many calories your own individual body needs. As you lose weight your calorie needs decrease so it is important to re-calculate and adjust accordingly. Use our BMR calculator here
   
2. If you haven’t yet joined up to our FREE members area, register here so you have your own private dashboard to log your weight, measurements, exercise and BMI so you can visually see your progress. Join up here
   
3. Snacking is essential for energy levels and for boosting your metabolism – see our healthy snacking category here
   
4. Are the scales not giving you the results you want – see what could be happening here
   
5. Read here about why you shouldn’t always trust the scales
6. Get some tips on staying motivated here
7. See the most common weight loss issues here and how to over come them
8. Join our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge here 

And to see how our weight loss plans work click here
Plus you can see our shop here