Weight Loss Goals and Your Mental Health

Before that drastic weight loss of 2013, I had always had a problem with my weight. Even though I was confident in other areas, I always had the mindset that I wasn’t that good looking because I was ‘fat’. Some of my friends would make statements like, “Belle, you are getting too fat.” Sometimes they’d say statements that suggest, I’d soon ‘explode’. Though the statements were intended as jokes, they still hurt my feelings. I’d tried starving myself several times but got little or no result. I remember how self-conscious I was because of how the people around me made being Big a big deal.

It was not until I became an adult, as I was going through my old childhood and teenage picture that I finally got to see that I wasn’t even as big as I’d thought I was. It finally occurred to me that all the years I got to dislike my body and starve myself, were all a ‘waste of life’ and energy. This is usually the case for some people who think they are ‘fat’.

If you’ve ever gone through your old teenage photos and realised that you weren’t even as fat as you believed you were, you can relate to this. Am I right?

You are not big because you eat too much, you eat too much because you are big.

Fitness is a topic that concerns a lot of people as it is a common goal amongst many humans. In today’s world, Body size or Weight is generally perceived as a determining factor when it comes to how good looking a person is.

There are different body sizes in the world. Some people are slim sized, some are big, while some tend to put on more weight as they age.

I know a lot of people who are self-conscious and struggling with their weight/body size. They all have one thing in common and that is Sadness.

They are usually downcast and sometimes angry at themselves for getting to the size they are. They beat themselves up for eating as much as they do. What they don't seem to understand is that the size of your stomach is what determines how quickly you get full. So you are eating the right amount of food that your stomach needs.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. You are not big because you eat too much, you eat too much because you are big.

Here are a few things to consider when trying to lose weight

Are you in the right health state to embark on the diet you are about to begin? Some people don’t even bother to check with their doctors before embarking on a weight loss journey.

This is a careless thing to do. I have heard of people who lost their lives because they had some underlining illness that got triggered by either strenuous exercise, some slimming tea or diet plan. Be sure to check with your doctor first before starting any strenuous exercise or diet.

Are you in the right mental state for the weight-loss journey? Your mental state is very important when it comes to weight-loss as there is a high chance of depression. Checking your mental state is one of the most important factors that a lot of people have failed to consider when trying to lose weight. From my personal experience and my observation of people who struggle with weight, I can tell you that the effect on your mental health is real.

The desire to lose weight has driven many to depression. Especially when they don’t get to their desired goal. Some even achieve their desired weight-loss goal and still feel Emotionally unfit. This is because most people have been fed with a faulty conception of Fitness. They have failed to realise that Fitness is not just about the body, fitness is of the mind as well. Make sure you have developed the right mindset about fitness before embarking on a weight loss plan.

Are you naturally on the Big Side? What I mean by this is, Some people get their body size from genes. You might have gotten your big beautiful bones (BBB) from your family genes. In this case, sometimes you might do all that’s possible and even though you get to shed a few pounds, you’d still be big because its in the genes. All you’d need to do is stay fit — tighten those muscles.

How do I stay fit then? you might ask.

I’d answer your question in a minute, right after you answer mine

Answer These Questions

What is your favourite food? Mine is Jollof Rice and Turkey with a bottle of chilled coke. Yours might be, Clam Chowder or Hamburgers. Whatever it is, I’m guessing it’s probably something that goes against your Weight loss goals. That means you’d have to stay away from your favourite food to lose weight.

What’s worse is, once you’ve lost the weight, you still can’t afford to go back to eating your favourite food else you’d gain back the weight. I don’t know about you but for me, that’s some serious problem. I don’t imagine myself having to spend my life avoiding my favourite meal. I mean, what’s the essence of living if I don’t get to eat what I love?

What do you do when you’re trying to lose weight? I’m guessing you’d either pick up a diet plan or you get involved in intermittent fasting. There are various diet plans you could get involved with. There is the famous Keto diet plan, which is said to have some serious health implications — low blood pressure, Kidney stones and heart disease. There is the Low carbs/no-carbs diet.

There are also the Slimming Teas that promise to help burn body fat. But some of these teas come with various side effects and health issues as well. As for the Intermittent fasting, I have heard a lot of testimonies about it. I tried it a couple of years ago and even though it was actually effective as I lost a few pounds then, I don’t think it was worth having an ulcer.

Did you lose weight? After all the dieting and fasting, did you successfully lose weight and if you did, how long were you able to keep the weight off? Often time, even though you lose weight, you tend to gain them back because you had to deprive yourself of your favourite meal in other to lose weight.

It’s only normal to want to relax and reward your achievement with a big plate of those your favourite deep-fried chicken wings and a glass of red wine. The chances of you gaining back the weight are usually higher when you get involved with most of these diet plans and intermittent fasts because just as the heart wants it wants so does the stomach or taste buds.

This is What Most Weight-loss Experts Fail to Tell You

It is almost impossible to keep off the weight you have lost if you got there by depriving yourself of essential needs. Things like the right nutrients your body needs, your favourite meals for your taste buds or how many times you need to eat in a day.

Except you want to spend the rest of your life depriving yourself of these essentials, you’d have to give in to nature at some point. Living life to the fullest by eating what you love and whenever you are hungry, without some ‘weight loss’ guide telling you otherwise is the dream. You can achieve that.

Here’s my secret

I, like most people, have gone through that phase of desperately wanting to lose weight, but then I discovered this secret. This Secret allows me to eat my favourite meals. I don’t get to spend so much money trying to buy a diet plan/meal or a new slimming tea. And guess what? it's affordable.

What to Do:

Step 1

Check your full body measurement: When you have the measurements, write it all down on a sheet of paper. When you are done, take the sheet of paper and read it out loud to yourself. Now take in deep breaths and say these words to yourself: “ I am Beautiful, I love my body, so I’m going to take care of my body while still loving it” Self-acceptance is the first key to living a happier and healthier life. So you need to accept your body and appreciate it regardless of what size it is.

Step 2

Get Drinking Water. This is the most important thing you can do when trying to stay fit or lose weight. Drinking the right amount of water your body needs is a necessity if you must live a healthier life. I can’t stress this enough. This is an area many people have failed. Most people are so preoccupied with other things that they usually forget to drink enough water. Some simply just don’t drink enough water because they are of the opinion that water is tasteless and boring.

They’d rather drink sweetened drinks like, Coke or they’d rather take alcoholic drinks. These sorts of drinks actually add to your chances of putting on some extra weight and hinder your fitness goals. Drinking enough water daily helps dilute your food and sugar intake. Here’s what I mean; for instance when you take a bottle of coke and empty its content into a cup and then you take a glass of water and turn it into that cup of coke, the coke in the cup becomes diluted and loses its sugary taste.

This means the majority of the cup content is now water. That is exactly what happens in your body when you drink enough water before and after a meal or a drink. When you fail to drink enough water, your food intake becomes highly concentrated and can now cause weight gain or even illnesses like diabetes.

It is a medical fact that people suffering from Diabetes need to consume more water because of their high blood glucose level. In taking enough water, their kidney, in turn, excretes the excess sugar through their urine. Another way water helps you stay fit is by taking it before every meal. This is a proven way to stay fit, especially when you are very hungry and you are about to eat, make sure you drink at least two glasses of water before you start eating.

I can’t stress this enough — do not just dive into your food when you are really hungry, if you do so, chances of you eating a whole pot of food are high and trust me, you don’t want to do that. When you drink enough water daily, your body is able to breathe. There are also many other benefits of water. Make drinking at least 1.2litres of water daily a lifestyle.

Step 3

Exercise. When I say exercise, I don’t mean strenuous exercises. You’d need to go for a medical check-up before engaging in those. And You don’t need to get registered at a gym for this either. I’m talking about the basics. As little as skipping 100, 200, 300 times daily or a little run every now and then can go a long way in keeping your body fit. Making exercise a lifestyle is necessary for a healthier life.

Note: For new mothers who are trying to lose some of the post-baby weight, You do not necessarily have to go through all those strict diets. As you know, it is normal to put on some extra weight during the cause of pregnancy. Take your time and practice these Steps I've mentioned above.

Conclusion

Your body needs all the necessary nutrients to function at its optimal capacity. In as much as Society has put some misconceptions in the minds of many about Body Image, as long as you are not Obsessed, there is no right or wrong size. Stop hating your body size and stop jumping from one diet plan to the other.

You are beautiful the way you are. If your body is not as tight or as fit as you would love it to be, there are easier ways to get fit. Simply love and appreciate yourself, take care of your body, drink enough water daily and exercise. Do these and watch your body transform.