Dieting does not equal happiness, so I'm going to share with you my top 7 reasons to stop trying to lose weight all the time. Before I found a healthy relationship with food, dieting was all I thought about. In the meantime, I lost people in my life that mattered, suffered depression and got to an unhealthy body weight. I also suffered health consequences I'm still living with. It might not even be necessary to lose weight unless you have a clinically diagnosed issue such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity. Be sure your doctor thinks weight loss is safe before you start, and keep these tips in mind of reasons to stop trying to lose weight all the time if you don't need to.
The most important of all reasons to stop trying to lose weight all the time is because it doesn't guarantee you'll be happy. You might not be as satisfied with life in a thinner body as you are in your current body. Start thinking about things in your life right now that make you happy. Being thin doesn't equate to being happy, but living life to the fullest does.
Constantly dieting can wreck your metabolism, and actually cause many issues from anemia, fatigue, thyroid issues, depression and even a slowed metabolism. This can lead to weight gain when you stop dieting, and can even cause things such as chronic fatigue syndrome to occur.
One of the worst things about constant dieting is how it affects your menstruation. A lifelong battle with an eating disorder caused me to lose my period completely. Even after gaining the needed weight back, my period never came back. Don't diet your menstrual cycle away. You don't just wreck fertility options, but also your hormones.
Depression is one of the first signs you'll see when you obsess over losing weight. You are constantly stressed and allowing your happiness to be determined by your waistline or the number on the scale. Stop with the madness! Happiness isn't found on that scale, it's found in a healthy brain and body.
If you're constantly thinking about dieting, what are you forgetting to turn your attention to? Family, pets, your job, friends, hobbies, passions? These things are the first things neglected when you're obsessed with losing weight all the time. Don't lose sight of what matters in life in the process of trying to lose weight.
If you can't lose more weight, no matter what you do, then stop trying! You're probably already at your happy weight, so you don't need to lose more. Your happy weight is the weight you reach when you're eating healthy, eating enough, exercising moderately and are maintaining the same size clothes over a long period of time. The best way to find this weight is to stop counting calories and start listening more to your appetite, energy levels and your hormones.
Losing a lot of weight or too much weight, especially consistently, can cause fatigue very quickly. Who wants to run around tired and low on energy all the time just for the sake of 5 pounds? Not me! I've been there and those necessary naps, constant lack of energy and having trouble staying energized all day are things of my past that I would never go back to! If you don't need to lose weight, fatigue will set in because your metabolism is slowing down and the body is telling you to conserve energy for survival. If you do need to lose weight, then you'll have more energy when you diet, not the opposite. This is only an exception in the case of cutting refined sugar, refined carbs, processed foods, fast food and anything that's not a whole food, from the diet. If you're tired while cutting these out, then your body is just detoxing. Be sure you're eating plenty of calories from whole foods, and your energy will pick up after you're done filtering out all the junk.
What are some ways you like to stay focused on health and not weight loss? Or, do you have a tip to share for losing weight the healthy way?