Many people can become obsessed about weighing themselves when on a diet. It is important to remember that your weight varies at different times throughout the day, week and month. Limit yourself to only weighing yourself once a week at the same time and you will have a more consistent reading. 

 

Although physically a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, remember that fat is much more bulky taking up approximately 18 per cent more space than muscle. Therefore, you need to remember that if you are exercising regularly it is possible to not lose any weight one week, but your jeans will feel loser as your body will be leaner. If this is the case you may find using body measurements is a better indication of how you're doing.

 

The most important thing is how you feel. If you have changed your eating and exercise habits for the better, you will feel better and the weight loss will follow. And remember drastic weight loss tends to lead to yo-yo dieting so you will be more successful with slower sustainable weight loss.

 

Losing weight is not easy. Human beings are pre-programmed to seek out and eat food. Thanks to the way we have evolved, we find it easy to feel hungry but much harder to know when we are full. Just think how hard it is to skip a meal, but how easy it is to give in to having that delicious dessert after a big meal.

 

Losing weight can be a real struggle, and we often make excuses about why we are not getting any lighter. Here we explain the real reasons why those pounds won't shift: 

 

I am always hungry

Before eating anything, ask yourself: am I really hungry? Many people mistake thirst for hunger, so have a glass of water and see if that helps. Make sure you drink water regularly to keep properly hydrated, which will not only help you not to over eat but will also make your brain work better. Or perhaps you are just bored - in which case food will not help.

 

I have no willpower

Losing weight is hard and we all slip up occasionally. The trick is to not let set backs throw you off completely. Why not write down the reasons why you decided to lose weight in the first place? You can take a look at this when you are feeling low.

 

My weight just seems to creep back on

Creeping weight gain can be the result of snacking throughout the day, outside of your regular meal time without you necessarily making a conscious note of what you have eaten, which can be just enough to tip your calorie intake levels over the edge. To avoid this happening, keep a weekly record of everything you have eaten, portion sizes and what exercise you took that week and track this on a weight loss chart. You can download a diary which will help you here. This will help you pinpoint the tiny changes that help to shift the weight, or which make it creep back on.

 

I have got a slow metabolism

Everyone can boost their metabolism and make it more efficient - regular exercise is the best way to do this but changes to your eating habits can also help. To lose weight you simply need to use more calories than you eat and drink each day.

 

I am too busy to exercise

Research shows that any exercise is better than none - even walking up stairs rather than taking the lift each day will help. Why not get an exercise buddy? They make exercise more fun, which will help you find the time to do it.