Facing up to Weight Gain

It isn't difficult to gain weight. All you have to do is eat or drink large quantities a few too many times and you could soon find yourself struggling to zip up your trousers. You gain weight by consuming more calories than your body burns and so if you lead an inactive lifestyle and do not make an effort to control your calorie consumption, the likelihood is that you will pile on the pounds. Unfortunately, it is all too convenient to put off dealing with your weight gain, because losing weight requires you to make an effort, which can be a real hassle.

However, the longer you avoid facing up to your weight gain, the harder it becomes. If you keep on eating whatever you feel like and going out, getting drunk with friends, you may find yourself gaining more and more weight. Eventually, instead of only having 10 pounds to lose, you could find yourself 50 or 60 pounds overweight. This is not a situation you want to find yourself in, because carrying so much extra weight could compromise your health and make it impossible for you to live the life you want and it will clearly take quite awhile to reach your goal weight once you decide to lose weight.

You therefore have to tackle your weight gain as soon as possible, so that you won't put on so much weight that your health deteriorates and you have no other option but to lose weight. It is generally recommended that you lose between one and two pounds a week, as this ought to be a sustainable rate of weight loss, but when you have a large amount of weight to lose it can be difficult to find the motivation to keep going. Instead of focusing on how much weight you've gained and how much you have to lose you should therefore concentrate on what you can do to improve the situation.

This basically means cutting down on, if not cutting out completely, your alcohol consumption; making changes to your diet so you eat less fast food and junk food and more fruits and vegetables; serving smaller portion sizes at meal times; eating regularly throughout the day, being careful not to consume too many snacks; and getting more active. Even though these are not particularly drastic changes, you should be able to see the results of your efforts when you step on the scales.

You may not lose weight as quickly as you would if you went on a crash diet, but at least you can live life normally, without feeling hungry and lethargic all the time. You also have a better chance of keeping the weight off, which is clearly important if you want to prevent such a situation arising again. The main thing is that you actually face up to your weight gain rather than constantly trying to avoid dealing with the problem.