Hey Tarryn Thompson here, today I’m going to give you 2 compelling reasons why you should stop trying to lose weight and why you should start focusing on your habits instead.

It’s important that you shift your focus because if you want to be successful in this area long term, this is what it’s going to take. In fact, studies are showing that no more than 20% of people who attempt to lose weight actually lose it and maintain that weight loss [1].

Here’s the first compelling reason: You can become obsessive compulsive.

For the majority of us we are just not that way inclined, nor can we sustain the amount of energy that goes into being obsessive or rigidly sticking to a diet plan. Nor can we sustain saying no to our favourite treats forever either.

If you shift your focus and put it on your habits, then you’ll start to see that it’s not because you haven’t been rigidly sticking to diet plan that got you here in the first place, but it has been because of the way you’ve been doing things over a long period of time.

Perhaps you are in the habit of not having protein with your main meals and so you are ravenous by the time you finally sit down to a proper meal.

Perhaps you are in the habit of not having breakfast and so you compensate your low blood sugars with snacking and coffee.

Here is the second compelling reason: It can create unrealistic expectations.

You see weight loss is a skill. To be able to lose weight in a way where you are not starving, where you are creating wellness and both looking and feeling vibrant, is a skill.

So if you have a history of dieting and continuous failure after failure then I would suggest perhaps you have some, perhaps even extensive knowledge, but you do not yet have the skills.

This can result in you trying to set goals and have your body operate in a certain way, kind of like a mathematical equation.

But your body is not a bank where you can simply manage your withdraws and deposits and expect a certain outcome. Your body is a complex machine which includes phycology and behaviours.

Unmet expectations can take you on a downward spiral. As you start to feel like you are falling behind you can start to make decisions to try and compensate which can leave you in a state of severe a calorie deficit which can lead to binge eating followed by self loathing.

If you can put your focus onto your habits and take it off trying to lose weight then you will find yourself setting regular small achievable goals. This leads to small successes one after the other. This promotes self confidence and self belief. And as a side effect you will begin to enjoy the process. This is necessary if you are to stay compliant and consistent.

Focus on your habits so you can start to put your knowledge into practice.

Do this over a long enough period of time and you will start to become skillfull in this area.

If you want more on this topic of habits I wrote a book called How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way – The 10 Health Habits You Need To Develop. 

Get yourself a free copy here

To your healthy and uplifting habits

Tarryn Thompson

Your Virtual Health Coach