I used to think that losing weight was as easy as 1-2-3. With our society today, and all the lose-weight and diet plans that are available as celebrities swear of its effectiveness in less time, anyone would be enticed to buy those fitness programs. According to Rudy Nydegger, PhD, “For any person dealing with significant weight issues, it is important that they pay attention to the full range of health and mental health issues.” I mean, who wouldn’t be tempted? If Kayla Itsines can deliver a perfect beach body for you all year round in just 30 minutes a day, who wouldn’t be lured to buy it? That’s the psychology behind it all. Everybody wants to have the perfect body, and for those who can offer that chance, they will hit it big.
I have nothing against Kayla Itsines because she produces results, just like all the other fitness experts who sell their “knowledge” and “expertise” in shaping and toning one’s body. Her BBG Workout Plan is impressive. Kayla has helped motivate thousands of people all around the world with her program. I mean, just look at her! She used to be very skinny and now, the pre-baby body that is, Kayla has proven that her way of exercising and eating can put anyone back into shape and maintain it. She even has a pregnant workout routine as Kayla is expecting her baby anytime soon. This woman is amazing. Her program lives up to its name – beach body.
The problem is that if you adapt to Kayla’s program, you have to be in it 100%. It’s not just about her plan. Many people have proven that it works and that is if you follow it step-by-step without breaking the routine. You must have the willingness, commitment, and the discipline to follow through it. If you want to lose those extra pounds, you must work hard and do the program without cheating. James Hill, PhD points out that “You have to make a long-term commitment. If you’re going to change your eating and exercise habits, you won’t be done after six weeks or six months or six years.” That’s why I realized it’s not easy to lose weight.
My doctor told me that I had accumulated all these fats and excess weight for the last ten years. It is also normal if I get to lose all this in ten years, as well. Rapid weight loss can also be unhealthy, and it will make your body unstable that’s why I don’t drink those diet pills and drinks. Even if they offer such, I don’t readily believe.
According to Linda Bacon, PhD, “The pursuit of weight loss is more damaging than high weight itself.” She also notes that “We have a great regulatory system that can guide us in how to eat well, and dieting shuts down that system.”
But if you ask fitness experts and trainers, it is possible to lose weight in a quick but healthy way. It doesn’t have to take ten years (in my case) to lose 38 kilos. (Yes, I have accumulated that amount of body fat over the years. Blame it on strawberry cheesecake, Starbucks frappe, and brownies. There you go – blaming food when it is I who bought it and placed it inside my mouth.) “Some foods, especially foods with high sugar and/or fat content, make you feel better, if only briefly,” says James Gordon a psychiatrist, “That good feeling makes you want to eat more, which in turn makes you feel bad about yourself,” He added. “That leads to deeper depression, and more eating, and greater amounts of weight gain. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Marion Nestle, PhD also adds “A calorie is a calorie no matter what it comes from. You can gain weight eating too much healthy food as well as unhealthy.”
I went to a fitness gym eight months ago, and a certified trainer attended to me on my first day. She assessed my “situation.” (Yes, I was a “situation” to them.) I am 5 feet and four inches with a (previous) weight of 102 kilos. Yikes, I know, that is huge. But would you believe me now when I say that after five months of not-so-rigid training and also, not-so-disciplined eating, I lost 17 kilos? You read that right – not-so-rigid, not-so-disciplined, five months and seventeen kilos.
Imagine how much I would have lost all those months if I followed my training to the dot and ate what I was supposed to eat strictly? My trainer said it would have been a plus ten kilos. I am not saying that my lack of discipline and laziness in exercise is the right way. But I was not in a hurry, and so, I was re-assessed by my trainer, and we worked out an agreement. Since I was not rushing, she changed my workout program and also asked assistance from a certified dietitian.
I told them about my work, my lifestyle, and how many minutes I can spend a day exercising. It also came to the point that I told them the type of exercises that I liked doing and even the food that I wanted to consume. You know what? It was great after that! And so for the past three months, I’ve been losing weight to a workout that I love to do, according to my way of life and time allocated per day. Also, I love eating the food in my nutrition plan. If only I had known of this early on, I would have preferred it that way.
If you’re thinking of losing weight, you need to be honest with your trainer and nutritionist (that is if you have these experts by your side). If you don’t, then, research very thoroughly on the fitness programs that you see online before purchasing. And make sure that you are committed to losing weight with your whole being bet on it. It is not as easy as 1-2-3, you know.
According to Dr. Howard Rankin, “We can persuade ourselves to do almost anything we want to do — especially when the behaviors are ones that our brains are used to doing. But trying to persuade ourselves to do things that we don’t really want to do — behaviors our brain is not used to — is not easy. We are very adept at making wonderful (and plausible) excuses as to why we can’t do what we don’t want to do.”