Why is Dieting so Difficult?

It doesn't matter how much you really want to lose weight, actually sticking to a diet plan which will enable you to shed the pounds isn't always that easy. You may start off being incredibly motivated, because you're fed up with being called names and you want to be able to fit into smaller clothes and to feel good about yourself. Consequently, you make changes to your diet and tell yourself that you're committed to changing yourself. However, this enthusiasm often begins to wane, as everyday life starts to get in the way of your good intentions.

It doesn't help if you lack support. If you live with other people who are either overweight and not bothered about it or a healthy weight and able to eat what they want, it can be difficult. Your partner might tell you that you don't need to lose weight, which gives you an excuse to overindulge, especially when he continually buys chocolate and other goodies that you are unable to resist. If most of your friends and relatives are overweight, they may tell you that you're fine as you are and continue to encourage you to eat too much, which makes it very hard to stick to your diet plan.

Sometimes, though, it is the diet plan itself which is to blame. Even when you do have the support of your family, this can bring with it added pressure. It may be that to achieve rapid results, you follow a fad diet which helps you shift a lot of weight quickly, but doesn't prepare you for what needs to be done to keep the weight off, so that you end up gaining weight back. It may be that you're trying to embrace realistic changes, such as eating chocolate, but only in small quantities, but that your family believes you are 'cheating' on your diet and that you are bound to fail.

If you're a strong person who is able to turn other people's negativity into your advantage, you may be able to continue with your diet and lose weight successfully to prove everyone else wrong. If, on the other hand, you have always turned to food when in need of comfort, you may end up abandoning your diet on those occasions when you're feeling at your lowest. If you're feeling down about your size and your progress, you may be inclined to binge on junk food, even though you know this kind of behaviour is going to slow down your weight loss and make you feel worse.

It may reach the stage where you're losing weight very slowly or not at all and when this happens you may see no reason to continue. Even though you may be far away from reaching your goal and still unhappy with your weight, you simply feel so low that you simply go back to the familiar old habits which caused your weight problem in the first place. Trying to make changes to your lifestyle is always going to be difficult, especially if you don't have the support of those closest to you and are not in the right frame of mind to succeed.