[Muffie's Mom]

All these comments came from a Healthy Weight Forum. These are great weight loss tips offering pointers for practical, effective weight loss tactics.

Question: I plan to eat well each day, why does it all fall by the wayside?

Answer: Planning is like a road map. It can show us the way, head us in the right direction and keep us on course. By planning our own healthy eating style and exercise regime and putting the strategies in place to manage relapses to get back on track, we can all learn to manage our weight.

Question: Plateaus are so discouraging! What causes a dieting plateau?

Answer: Everyone who goes on a “diet” will plateau! This is because all diets put people on a set calorie intake day after day. The body naturally becomes attuned to a very low energy intake and slows metabolism down.
This is why weight goes back on again after each diet attempt, plus interest.

Successful, maintainable weight management is not the result of “dieting”. It can only be achieved by a varied and enjoyable food intake which fits into your own family lifestyle.

Question: I don’t want to change anything! Why shouldn’t I keep eating the food I like?

Answer: To achieve a change in our health and weight we have to accept that some changes will be inevitable. Change can be daunting or it can be an exciting, goal-oriented challenge. It all depends on how you view change. We can still eat the foods we “like” (which is usually all the fat laden foods) but enjoy them in moderation. High fat, high sugar, high salt foods are “special occasion foods” not everyday foods.

Question: I lasted on my last diet for three weeks and then my mother arrived to stay and it all fell apart. How can I prevent this from happening again?

Answer: The ability to handle relapses and then get back on track again as soon as possible is the key to success at any endeavour. Problems in life arise for everyone – even for those people with the trim bodies you envy! The trick is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back on track.

Question: I’ve lost and gained weight back on again more times than I care to remember! Why does overweight keep finding me?

Answer: As with any endeavour with an end result worth achieving never give up. Keep persisting and persisting until you achieve that goal you set yourself. If it is worth achieving (and what could be more important than your health!) then it is worth persisting despite the challenges, which will appear along the way.

Question: I’d love to lose weight, but my husband says he loves me just the way I am. Is he telling me the truth?

Answer: If you are not happy within yourself, then how can those who love you possibly be happy? Our greatest power is the power to choose. We can decide where we are, what we do and what we think. No one can take the power to choose away from us. We can be what we want to be. The choice is ours and ours alone.

Question: My whole family is overweight – if I lose weight, won’t I feel like the odd one out?

Answer: If you are happy with your weight and are healthy, there is no reason to allow anyone to tell you to “lose weight”. However, if you are unhappy and unhealthy, maybe now is the time to be a pioneer within your family and help point them in the right direction from a healthy point of view, by your example and inspiration.

Question: I’ve got young children – how can I find the time to lose weight?

Answer: The force of habit and making excuses are quick to force us to fail or never begin! The more we do something, the more likely we are to do it again. Establishing a healthy eating, cooking or exercise habit forms a bridge, which enables us to walk across the deepest valley to success.

Question: Why does something always happen to prevent me from reaching my goals?

Answer: Choosing to fail or choosing to succeed is entirely up to the individual. There are no limits to our possibilities. When we imagine success and positive happenings in our lives, this is what we can expect to achieve. When we imagine success our vision expands, we capture and hold onto our dreams and our views are fulfilled.

Question: I try to lose weight, so why do I fail each time?

Answer: “Trying” to do something allows us automatically to fail. In the words of Joda the Jedi Master in Star Wars. “Do or do not. There is no try.” Choose to do it or to not do it. However, if you choose to do it, then do it – don’t just try! Listen to what your own self talk is saying to you and re-program your head to tell you positive self talk, not negative, self limiting self talk.

Question: I’m so busy, is the only food that is quick take away?

Answer: No! There are plenty of healthy choices that are quick and easy to make, or purchase, instead of fried chicken, fish and chips or hamburgers. Any milk bar will make you a salad sandwich or roll. In winter, soup and a bread roll is a great choice. Stir fries are made in minutes. A barbecue chicken is easily purchased – remove the skin and serve with a big salad or vegetables quickly steamed in the microwave. Result? A difficult problem solved with ease and a healthy satisfying lunch or dinner in minutes.

Question: I really envy all my friends who are slim and full of energy. Why is life so unfair?

Answer: Life is not a rehearsal and there is no such thing as a magic weight loss fairy (or magic pill for that matter) which will turn you into a slim person overnight. Instead of wishing you could be slimmer and full of energy, take a good look at just what you are eating and how much exercise you perform each week. To both lose and maintain weight we need to reduce our total fat grams eaten per day to around 20-24 grams, eat three balanced meals and two snacks every day and exercise four times per week. Remember, healthy people do it all the time!