Why Everyone Fails to Lose Weight, and What to Do Instead

Ninety-five percent of people who lose weight put it all back on again. And some of those put it back on again and even more as well. I mean look around at your friends, colleagues and relatives and ask yourself, how many have tried to lose weight and failed? How many have lost weight and put it back on again a few months or maybe a year or two later? It always comes back. Why?

There are three simple reasons why.

In order to lose weight you generally need to exert yourself with exercise somehow. That might be endurance exercise such as running or cycling. Or it might be resistance training in the gym. Or maybe you started playing a sport that you like again. Some physical effort is required. The problem is that the longer you have gone without exercising, and the older you are, the more likely you are to get injured doing the physical exertion required to lose the weight. Also the larger you are, the more effort you need to put in, which increases the likelihood of getting injured even more. As soon as you get injured you stop exercising and the downward spiral commences.

So in order to pursue a successful weight loss strategy; first you must NOT pursue a weight loss strategy! First you must strengthen the weak bits, stretch the tight bits and basically fix the imbalances in your body through corrective exercise. Once you have built the foundations of good physical health then you can throw a lot more demanding exercises at the body that are required to achieve the weight loss results you want.

Losing weight requires effort. Doing exercise and “diet stuff” requires effort. Sometimes you will not feel like doing it. Having a clear goal is essential. What is your purpose? What is your desire? Who, whom or what do you love enough to want to make a change? Having a clear goal is essential to help with the motivation, discipline and willpower, particularly in the tough times.

Examples of good and bad goals as follows:

❌ I want to lose weight

❌ I don’t want to be overweight

❌ I want to see my abs

✔️ I want to set a good example to my children of what it means to be happy and healthy

✔️ I want to be a better tennis player

✔️ I want to have more energy to spend more time with my kids

First find a goal. But if you don’t know what your goals is then working with a coach is the easiest way to find it.

If you are feeling down you will crave unhealthy foods, sugary foods and calorifically dense foods that will pack the weight on. If you are busy and stressed at work you are likely to find excuses to not do your exercises. If you’re anxious in the evening you may end up going to bed late to watch Netflix and eat comfort foods in order to wind down. Any kind of negativity in your life is likely to sabotage your weight loss goals.

Bringing your stress levels down permanently is absolutely key to ensure you don’t end up self-sabotaging and can keep your goal clearly in sight.

So if you have tried to lose weight before and failed. Or you have tried to lose weight before, and succeeded but it came back, then ask yourself, “were you physically, emotionally and mentally balanced at the time”? Are you physically, mentally and emotionally balanced right now? Are you in the right place to start this exercise regime and eat that diet?

Unfortunately, we’re impatient. And we want the results now. Gyms tell us we can get six pack abs in a few weeks. The media is full of stories of such-and-such who lost tons of weight on the latest diet. And we always think that we can undo the damage done very quickly. In reality it doesn’t work. And in reality, people don’t lose weight permanently, unless they have got themselves into physical, mental and emotional balance first.

Have some patience, build those three foundational pillars of physical, mental and emotional health first and you can achieve your goals and dreams. And remember if you want a different result then it’s time to do things differently.

To your health, happiness and longevity, 

The Levitise Team

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