7 Most Common Reasons You Regain the Weight You’ve Lost

Most people regain at least some if not all of the weight they lose. Why? It has a lot to do with one’s mindset going into it, initial and long term goals, careful planning and foresight. It also has a lot to do with the fact that the media keeps bombarding us with information about how we need to lose weight and how to do it. It focuses a lot on how it’ll make us look great and feel awesome. But there’s very little talk about how to keep it off and maintain your new and improved body shape. Losing excess weight is only part of the battle. That’s just the start of the journey but most people don’t think of it that way or simply forget that it’s a lifelong change in attitude and lifestyle. Here are 7 of the most common reasons you regain the weight you’ve lost.

1. Unrealistic Goals
If you set unrealistic goals you’re very unlikely to reach them. And even if you do, it won’t be good for your health and you’re at risk of gaining it back. Studies show that the best goal you can make is to lose 10% of your current weight. Small steps are the best. If you set the goal too high and reach it fast it won’t be healthy weight loss and therefore it won’t have that lasting effect you’re after.

2. Very Restrictive Diets
Crash diets or diets that restrict huge food groups aren’t a good idea either. When you restrict your food intake too much your weight will plummet, but so will your dedication. It’s simply not sustainable and after a short period of time you’ll lose motivation, quit and gain it all back, all because you’re stressing your body too much and not feeding it properly so it’ll start craving all the bad things to restore the energy.

3. Over Exercising
Lots of people choose to exercise every day, sometimes multiple times a day to lose weight. It works at first but again this is not sustainable, especially if you never used to work out before. Going from zero exercise to spending every day at the gym will only make you feel exhausted and make you want to quit. It’s better to start small, 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week and work from there. Another downside of over-exercising is that once you reach your goal you’re very likely to stop exercising as much, and your body will interpret that as “time to gain the weight back”.