How to make weight loss permanent

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Recently there is an interesting study published in the MSN Health titled Obesity’s Hazard & Mysteries. One of the things mentioned is that it is better to have fixed mealtimes rather than to break it down into lighter meals. And to abstain from eating between 8 to 12 hours everyday.

Holistic healing has long prescribed fasting as a good way to let the overworked digestive system rest. Each time we have a meal, our digestive system has to work very hard to break down the food into nutrients that can be absorbed into the body. When people are taking a lot of processed food, the digestive system and the liver have to further work harder to neutralize the effect and excrete these items from our system. If we generally eat nutritious food, give our body adequate exercise, then everything tends to circulate and work better.

Everyone knows this is true- there is no denying it. But how many people are practicing this?

But in today’s living life, we often eat on the go, develop a love for sweet and processed food, watch TV and ignored exercise. Not that we are lazy- but the stress of earning a living and making sure that bills and mortgages are paid on time often makes us too overwhelmed to focus on anything else rather than to sit down and relax by the couch with our favourite food. And stress directly affects our digestive health- that is why people who are stress often gets gastric and tummy ailments.

It is increasingly becoming obvious that a lot of people use food as comfort and consolation. Food is the easiest available and one of the cheapest source of comfort. When we feel down, we tend grab a bag of chips, ice cream, chocolates, chezzy pizzas. It’s hard to find those who love to eat a bowl of salad, steamed fish or chicken when they are feeling stressed. Unfortunately, this little indulgence doesn’t pay- they tend to deposit themselves as fat, jingly tissues that makes it challenging to shop for clothes.

Recently, the show The Biggest Loser Asia was aired in Malaysia. I remember during the initial episode, most of the contestants cried when asked why they want to lose weight- they want to do it for their kids, they are tired of not having self confidence and being looked down all their lives, etc. However, when the show is running, the contestants finally realize that losing weight is a lot of work- all those punishing exercises and diet becomes a living hell to endure. Anyone would need to have determination as strong as steel to get through the vigorous training.

In the end, like a lot of lose weight reality shows, when you interview those who lost the most weight a year or two later, a lot of them regained the weight.

Why?

Because they do not know how to keep the weight off.

Yeah, we all know that we should eat less and exercise more. But sometimes it is not so simple- how to deal with all the slip ups and the need to eat for comfort? And most would not want to do endless push ups and squats almost every other day to exercise- it’s too hard.

There are really people who lose the weight and kept it off for years and even decades. And when these people are interviewed, they tend to have one thing in common- ‘they’ve learned to overcome a personal issue that has been holding them back in life.’

Personal issues can vary- some examples:

• Standing up to being bullied at work or at home
• Having the courage to leave an unhealthy/ abusive relationship
• Overcoming certain fears or phobias
• Succeeding at something that he/she had been wanting to do for a long time but initially did not dare to do because of critism, discouragement or disapproval from family or friends.
• Learning to truly forgive, love and accept oneself instead of trying to fit into an acceptable mould.
• Forgiving someone who have left a deep scar/wound and letting the past go

When they are able to do that, they found the confidence to develop and customize their own weight loss plan and stick to it. I have find it very interesting and a lot of weight loss plans tend to tackle only the symptoms- if one does not go into the root cause of the issue, the weight loss would only be temporarily. Solve the root cause, and the weight loss becomes permanent.