Whether you like to lose 10 or 100lbs, there are always a million obstacles to losing weight that alone will understand, Trust me, I have been there and am still there even today while I try to lose weight AGAIN.
Ask anyone who has been immensely successful in losing up to even half of their body weight, they sure would have faced similar or perhaps even more obstacles than you did.
Losing weight is never easy but not impossible either if we put our mind to it. Life can get hard in several ways in the form of work, kids, family, lifestyle changes, mental and physical health problems etc that take a toll on our minds.
It is easy to give up when we are stressed by different aspects of life. And there is this boredom, lack of motivation, pandemics, temptations, difficulty in cooking etc and all that. You name it and I would have faced all of that in my own weight loss journey.
But when there are obstacles to losing weight, we want solutions right? Here are the 12 biggest obstacles to losing weight and how you can overcome them.
Jump to:
- #1 Obstacle You can’t stop snacking in between meals
- #2 Obstacle Snacking after dinner or late night
- #3 Obstacle You try to fix your boredom by eating
- #4 Obstacle Emotional or stress eating
- #5 Obstacle You can’t stop drinking alcohol
- #6 Obstacle You have no time to cook
- #7 Obstacle You think healthy food is expensive
- #8 Obstacle You cant afford a gym
- #9 Obstacle You don’t have time to exercise
- #10 Obstacle E You lack motivation
- #11 Obstacle You think you failed many times
- Your life is a mess!!!
#1 Obstacle You can’t stop snacking in between meals
I get you, most of us are foodies and can’t wait for longer intervals without any food. One of my main obstacles to losing weight was this too. Am someone who needs food frequently. Even if you feed me a big meal it is very likely that I want something in the next 2 hours.
So a solution for this could be to plan my snacks just like breakfast, lunch and dinner rather than eating whatever comes in handy and feeling guilty later.
If I am at work, the chips from a vending machine, at home, it would be the ice cream from the freezer or some cupboard spoilers. Or even just plain white rice in my sight. these were and are my obstacles.
SOLUTION
- Analyze your eating patterns and favourite foods. Make a list of healthy low-calorie snacks ahead.
- Include snacks as part of your daily diet, like you should know that you have a time slot for snacks just like lunch and dinner. This will reduce your cravings and unplanned eating. when you know food is waiting for you, there is less chance you eat something that’s not required for your body.
- You can eat apples, homemade chips, even a small portion of homemade fried rice, watermelon sticks, single toast with peanut butter, homemade nut bars, savoury balls, falafel. Actually, you can even munch on store-bought chips like multigrain crisps or potato crips, there is no harm. If only you can plan and stick to it. When you won’t plan, you eat more than you need out of blue.
Get my FREE 51 weight loss snack ideas e-book for free when by signing up to my email list below. This e-book contains healthy, low-calorie, wholesome snack ideas that can be a good reference point for your weight loss meal planning.
#2 Obstacle Snacking after dinner or late night
SOLUTION I would recommend doing a similar exercise as above. Design your day to have a snack after dinner. Your mind will be happy since it is now programmed that it can have a treat after dinner.
- If you are working late in the night, opt for warm milk or a healthy dessert like chia seed pudding or low-calorie chocolate mousse.
- Another way is to stick to a schedule and be early to bed. Most of the food accidents after dinner (at least to me)happen when you endlessly scroll social media and fed up at some time not having any new updates to watch and rely on food.
#3 Obstacle You try to fix your boredom by eating
SOLUTION
- Find ways to get busy. Take up a new passion that could help your weight loss journey itself. Start writing a blog like this about your weight loss struggle and how you are overcoming them that can use to many people on the Internet and maybe even to your own family members.
- Pick up a hobby like sketching or video making or gardening etc. You will have loads to learn and once you are hooked all your boredom will disappear.
- Take a new DIY project or spend time with kids teaching them some new activities.
#4 Obstacle Emotional or stress eating
SOLUTION
We tend to celebrate with food when we are happy. also if you are like me, we rely on food again when negative emotions hit. As someone who had been gone through these stress eating cycles, I can assure you that all your feelings are true.
But also think about the frustration levels you may get into as a result of that overeating when we know mental stress is a part of our life it is important to realize that it should at least fall back on our physical health.
Before you gobble food, think for a minute if you are really hungry, establish a connection with your mind and examine if this food is really needed for your body. You may not deprive yourself completely but have a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate to clear up your mind.
The idea here is to give a pause and allow your mind to process the need for eating food.
#5 Obstacle You can’t stop drinking alcohol
one of many obstacles to losing weight is this too much of an excessive drinking habit. AlchAnd many people fail to overcome this coz they try to DEPRIVE themselves completely.
There is no need to give up drinking completely be it alcohol or fizzy drinks. Start limiting the amount you drink on a weekly basis. Discuss it with your friends and make yourself accountable to them.
Try mocktails and homemade cold drinks instead by mixing a bit of alcohol in them? Make your friends aware that you are trying to lose weight so they don’t force you to drink at parties. Be prepared to tell no and find alternatives ahead while going out.
Try to eat a balanced meal and get an early timely sleep so you can avoid the need and temptation to have late-night alcohol.
#6 Obstacle You have no time to cook
Your ultimate answer is to PREPARE. meal prep is your friend, there is no excuse for not dedicating a day or two per week to prepare your food for the whole week. Preparing all my meals or at least ingredients for the whole week has been so helpful in my weight loss journey.
Cook your grains like rice, quinoa, potatoes, couscous and store them in airtight containers.
Make curries, dals, sauteed vegetables, boiled eggs, chicken etc so you can pair it up with your fav grains. I also boil pulses like chickpeas, beans so I can use them in stews, salads, curries throughout the week.
You need not make a complete meal prep ahead of time, you can simply cut your veggies, boil pulses, grill chicken and make a meal easily when you are ready to eat.
Here is my meal prep picture I pulled from my Instagram feed for you. If you don’t follow me yet do give me a follow to get such meal prep ideas and many more.
I also tried to prepare my smoothie bags ahead so I can leave them out for an hour while I get ready. then make my smoothie and head to work. It’s that simple if you master meal prep.
#7 Obstacle You think healthy food is expensive
While it’s the opposite. You don’t need any fancy foods to lose weight. Wherever you are stick to your local and native foods. You don’t need expensive foods from health stores or magic drinks that claim weight loss.
all you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit in a sustainable healthy way.
Fruits, grains, pulses are all common inexpensive items that you need to eat anyways if not losing weight also. Try to buy items in bulk to reduce the overall price. If you are tight on budget, try to shop in below-average supermarkets that still sell food at cheaper prices which are food safety authorized in the UK.
Do your food shop in times of weekly deals or late evening where most of the supermarkets try to clear the stock for lesser prices. One other way to reduce cost is to buy frozen produce which is absolutely healthy for example like frozen fruit, veggies, plain chicken etc.
Also choosing to eat healthy means you get to cut down unwanted sweets, fizzy drinks and junk food which saves you money.
#8 Obstacle You cant afford a gym
One of many common obstacles to losing weight is not getting enough physical exercise. But it’s not because of going to the gym. You can absolutely lose weight without to the gym.
Walking, running, cycling are the cheapest and free ways to get plenty of physical exercise with the bonus of breathing in the fresh air in Nature.
there are several free workouts available on YouTube such as this Fitness Blender that provides step by step guide for getting into exercise to lose weight. Choose one according to your convenience and time, stick to it and results will ultimately follow.
If you need a sense of community, there are several online groups where you can find workout buddies to keep you going. also if you live in the UK, I cannot recommend this free walking/running event called Parkrun enough. the support is incredible.
Remember weight loss is 80% food and 20% exercise, just because you cannot do that 20% doesn’t mean you cannot lose weight. But it is good to do physical exercise for the overall health of our body and mind so it is highly recommended you include an exercise regime for a healthy and sustainable weight loss.
#9 Obstacle You don’t have time to exercise
All you need to give yourself is 30 minutes a day. that’s nothing when compared to the amount of time you spend scrolling social media or tele. In fact, you can watch tv while doing exercise at home.
Imagine the amount of time you spend lying in bed in the mornings playing games on the phone? You need less time than that to make a killer workout session. If you have this strong will to lose weight, you have 30 minutes to do.
Early mornings, lunch breaks, after work, or just before sleep anytime is ok to get that exercise done. If you are a busy mom of a toddler, try to walk by pushing the stroller for an even more efficient workout.
Any change in life needs some level of sacrifice, so if you don’t have time still it’s time to sacrifice and cut your time on other activities to take care of your own health.
#10 Obstacle E You lack motivation
Dips in motivation are often one of the biggest obstacles to losing weight in many of our lives which is even hard to explain. But the good news is that if you have identified you lack motivation you are ready to find solutions and work towards overcoming it.
First thing is to give yourself a break and talk to yourself if something is getting too much in your life that is demotivating you. Maybe taking a break will help you come back stronger. But make sure that break is too long to derail you totally.
Next thing is to push yourself a bit when you don’t feel like working out or staying on a healthy eating plan. To me, online communities like Facebook groups have always been s helpful in bringing my motivation back.
Spending time with like-minded people or people who share the same goals as yours can be a great motivation factor. Make yourself accountable to a close friend or family member so they can push you when needed.
If you are really too tired on any given day and your legs start feeling heavy instead of giving up as a whole try to go for a light walk in a park. It still is good and makes you feel better even mentally.
#11 Obstacle You think you failed many times
So did I and so everyone did. Failures are common in many walks of life including trying to losing weight. I have lost weight successfully in the past and regained some of it for various reasons.
I still fail to lose a pound for several weeks. I talk to myself honestly about why I failed in the first place. Maybe I didn’t stick to my eating plan or moved as much as I wanted. There got to be a reason, try to find that and work better this time.
It’s not really important how many times we fail but how stronger we are rising up to make it work is the key. Get up, make changes to the plan, accept your situation, be flexible and try again. anything is better than quitting. Setting a positive mindset is really key and applying it to losing weight is not an exception.
Your life is a mess!!!
You have an injury or having a breakup, going through a divorce, trying to manage as a single parent, fighting illness, facing a financial crisis and you are mentally down all the time. Life can get totally messy. I get that and I have been there.
It is important that we accept our situation and align our goals accordingly to lose weight. Take a break and think about what is important for yourself, If you are reading this article, perhaps losing weight is really important for you.
these obstacles to losing weight are common for many but think about how few people are succeeding. that’s not because they haven’t failed. that’s because they overcame those obstacles and prioritized their own health.
Did I miss anything else that you think is an obstacle to losing weight? Leave a comment below and let me know.
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