Medical researchers have given us all kinds of reasons to exercise and be active. They’ve proven that staying in shape not only decreases the risk of high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and certain cancers (colon, breast, uterine, lung, and prostate), but being physically fit also strengthens our immune systems to fight off simple viral and bacterial infections. — Matt James Ph.D.
Perhaps all people already know that losing weight is one of the most challenging things to do. That’s primarily for those individuals who have been overweight their entire life. The mental, physical, and emotional struggle they endure is incomparable. These persons live in too much stress and anxiety every day due to judgment, criticism, and bullying. It is a situation that only those who genuinely care will understand. In the battle of losing weight, people who recognize their condition and look at it as something to overcome brings a positive outcome. Since the most significant step of the process is to work on it through lifestyle changes, it demands a lot of determination to do something about it. Being overweight is always a choice, and those people who wish to compete with its changes must take courage.
What’s Inside Their Heads?
A lot of these overweight individuals often feel insecure about themselves. There’s this mental and emotional vulnerability that surrounds them everywhere. They stick into an idea that their physical appearance is the source of their loneliness and life struggle. They assume that because people everywhere are judging them based on what they see, it becomes their overall representation. From that point, they begin to have a problem changing their attitude towards transforming their physical state. They somehow feel that even though there is a significant chance of achieving the psychical alteration they desire, the past condition will still haunt them. That whatever they do, they will always be the overweight individuals that people used to ignore.
One of the many misconceptions about overweight people is that others assume they won’t make it. That even if they try so hard to change the way they live, they will go back to things it was before. And since other people often see them differently, they also begin to feel different about themselves. That’s the reason why a lot of these overweight individuals appear discouraged. They sometimes find it hard to face the gap between who they are right now and who they want to be in the future. There are also instances that even just realizing how big the difference is can make these people want to stop thinking about change. For them, the choices, work, and sacrifices they have to make are too overwhelming.
…people who believed that obesity is caused by a lack of exercise were more overweight on average than those who believed that obesity is caused by poor diet. — Art Markman Ph.D.
What’s Causing The Delay Of The Progress
The reason why these individuals feel vulnerable and insecure is that they are starting to pay too much attention to how much they are going to work and sacrifice for the desired physical alteration. There’s this buildup of fear and anxiety that somehow tells them that they might not accomplish their goal. That even if they try so hard changing everything about their life, they will not make it and won’t be able to do it. In unfortunate circumstances, they often convince themselves that they are not going to be able to close the gap between their desired and current weight. That’s the reason why most of them quit even before they decide to start changing their ways.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) helps individuals identify what matters most to them and to explore decisions that help them live a values-based life. — Deanna Richards, LMHC
What Can They Do?
There are two significant things that these individuals can do. The first thing they should consider is narrowing down their focus. It includes the minute-to-minute decisions they are about to take for the benefit of their health. Meaning, they should stop thinking about the big picture and get through what they have to do for today. The next thing is to consider the diet’s straightforwardness. People should understand that the cause of the diet’s insufficient result is due to its relation to emotion. The truth is, diet is so simple that anyone can follow it. But what makes dieting hard is when individuals listen to what triggers its insufficiency.
Losing weight is a difficult choice, so people need to focus on the massive alteration in their life. Whether it is trying to change their diet or begin doing exercise, it should follow consistency. They should also stop feeling bad about themselves because it is not helpful in emotional and mental aspects. They must consider looking forward to gaining better results and picture out their life choices as something that provides them a guaranteed satisfaction. When they learn how to encourage themselves to do what they got to do, they will eventually reach their goal no matter what.