What Are the Major Obstacles to Weight Loss? Persistence Pays Off

Weight loss requires emotional involvement and personal commitment. Not only does a person’s physical image differ when undergoing weight loss or after he or she has lost weight, but also his or her thoughts, feelings and emotional reactions to losing weight or having lost weight may change, too.

“Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions.”

There is a huge gamut of emotions that include love and hate, fear, joy and sorrow that are instrumental in how a person perceives his or her own weight or weight loss.

Assuming control of one’s life and thus, one’s weight, means establishing and maintaining priorities in spite of any possible emotions that can create potential obstacles associated with weight loss.

Love and hate 

Love is central to the emotions associated with weight loss. Setting one’s priorities properly involves loving the divine, others and oneself. Most people trying to lose weight know that it is difficult to do particularly on one’s own. The emotional wrestling and inner turmoil can be horrendous.

Finding strength and courage in the love of the divine, helps overcome emotional obstacles like self-hatred.

Loving others gives added incentive for weight loss, as well as for later weight loss management, because it takes the focus off self or one’s ego. Wanting to please others who you love is a good reason to lose weight. 

Love of oneself acts as an additional incentive. Many overweight people hate themselves and their image to varying degrees, but drag their feet instead of doing something about it.        

Coupled with love in its complexity, diversity and multiplicity of expression, there is care, concern and compassion for oneself and others that all play an important role in weight loss. These can help to counter any possible emotional obstacles that might interfere with or prevent weight loss.    

Fear

Fear is a major obstacle in tackling weight loss, as failure is a possibility. Overcoming fear of failure is never easy especially, if it is associated with possible rejection. Unanticipated fears can arise, like “What if I cannot lose enough weight?” or “What if I don’t like the way I look after I have lost weight?”

Add to that, the question of “What if my parents or boyfriend don’t like the way I look?” There is also the likelihood that they will love the way you look.

Fear of possible illness associated with sudden, or drastic weight loss can be an obstacle and professional medical guidance in accordance with one’s body mass index (BMI) is a good idea.

Joy and sorrow

There is a certain amount of joy and sorrow associated with weight loss, joy in terms of success and sorrow in terms of possible or actual failure. To someone who is positive, proactive and constructive, no matter how often he or she fails there is always the possibility of success in the future.

Even though weight loss may appear to be an emotional struggle, persistence pays off and it does have its rewards. The joys of weight loss far outweigh the sorrows associated with the ongoing struggle to lose weight.