Weightloss Excuses - why you think you can’t lose weight

What are you telling yourself as to why you can’t lose weight?

Excuses, excuses, excuses…

We all do it!

I find losing weight and keeping it off tough, too. And we’re designed to avoid discomfort so we’ll tell ourselves all sorts of excuses to avoid the pain of not losing weight, or not putting the effort in to lose the weight. 

Now, there’s a million reasons why you might not feel able to make changes in your life even when you desperately want to.  

With New Year on the horizon, this is often the time many of us resolve to make a commitment  … to the gym, to healthier eating, to weight loss - only for it all to fall apart by 12th January. Did you know that’s the date when most people quit their New Year’s resolutions?!

So, today I’m going to tackle head on a few of the barriers you might be putting up to better midlife health and help you see that by thinking a little differently there’s a much better chance of success. 

And at the end I’ll tell you just how to do that ...

1. I’m too old to make any changes - it’s too late

It’s certainly true that as you age your metabolism slows down, and your hormones are kind of against you. Certainly, women are more predisposed to putting on weight around their middle. 

But it doesn’t mean you can’t do it!  

What it does mean is that probably what you did as a 20 year old is now not going to work as a 40 year old. You’ve got to work to balance your hormones and find a way of eating and drinking that you can keep going with. There’s no quick fix in midlife but I do know that slow and steady wins the race #hareandtortoise

2. I Have to Travel for Work So Changes Won’t Work for My Lifestyle

I hear this a lot from clients. 

They say it’s all very well trying to eat more healthily but their stressful lifestyle just doesn’t allow it. Overnight hotel stays with big breakfasts, eating out with clients, conference lunches with minimal choices can be challenging. 

The secret with travelling is about control of your environment - doing the best you can about finding a way of eating that fits in with your lifestyle. I adopt the 80:20 rule, accepting there are some situations where you have to wine and dine clients and you’ve only got what’s on the menu. So you have to make the best choice based on what’s being offered to you. 

But it’s not impossible and there are lots of ways around it.

3. Cravings or Lack of Control - I Just Can’t Help Myself Around Food and Drink

Yep - been there, done that, bought the T-Shirt, especially this time of year! 

Lack of control is probably linked to the curse of the midlifer, willpower. Willpower is a finite resource, meaning it runs out. At the start of a weight loss programme willpower might appear strong but soon decision fatigue kicks in and it’s easier to say ‘yes’ than ‘no’ to that dessert or the extra large glass of wine. 

But willpower can also be about cravings for high sugar, high carb foods and if you don’t have those under control then it’s really tricky to rely on willpower to get you through. But cravings are physiological rather than psychological meaning the food you eat really affects your cravings. 

Sort out your cravings and you don’t actually need to lean on willpower - you just won’t feel the same need for the foods that are currently trashing your good intentions.

4. I’ve tried everything - nothing works!

I hear you :(

As someone who started dieting at about 16 doing the Rosemary Conley diet (that shows my age!) and since then has been a Weight Watchers gold member, a vegan, done 5:2, done high fat and low fat, vegetarian and pescatarian, very low calorie and numerous things in between, I hear you.

What I do know is that trying to fit yourself into someone’s diet plan won’t work long-term. You need to find something you can tailor to the way you want to live your life so that you don’t have to give up wine and chocolate or nights down the pub.

You probably also need to have some accountability and support to keep you on track otherwise the temptations will keep calling out to you. And having a community around you to ask for help or get your questions answered is probably a good step too.

And finally, you need to REALLY enjoy the food plan or way of eating that you choose so that you can stick to it along with getting your mindset right so you don’t keep beating yourself up and telling yourself that you’re useless…I told you I’d been there!

Thoughts, Feelings and Actions 

Here’s something else to think about - our thoughts drive our feelings and this in turn drives our actions. 

Most of us, especially at this time of year, jump straight in at actions. 

We decide we’re going to hit the gym 3 times a week or lose 2 stone in weight.  That’s where New Year’s resolutions fall down because we come in all motivated and gung-ho with our actions but the trouble is we haven’t addressed our feelings and we haven’t addressed our thoughts which are drinking all of this. 

Without this bit, you don’t stick a chance :(

So, next time you find yourself considering taking an action or putting off an action, ask yourself what are you feeling? -  are you feeling tired, or are you feeling anxious? 

From there, what's the thought that’s driving that? Is it ‘I don’t want to miss out’ (a big one for me!) or ‘it’s not worth me doing this’ or ‘I’ve tried this before and it didn’t work’? 

Just being more conscious of your mindset will help, as will thinking not so much about your end goal but about the process you need to take to get there. You’ve got to enjoy the process, which is why I talk about ‘real-life midlife’ because the process has to fit in with your life. 

And in midlife that might take a bit longer than you would like but with the right steps in place it will happen.

Taking the First Step

As some of you know, I’m an enthusiastic (but very average) runner. I run half marathons but I’m never going to win one just by saying I want to. Athletes don’t think they’ll win Olympic gold because they want to - it’s the steps they put in place, every day, every week, every year that get them there. In other words … the process.

There’s an excellent book by James Clear (Atomic Habits) that makes just this point - if you focus less on a timescale and more on adopting good habits over time, then the process will get you to your goal. 

How is that possible? Simply because once you start to adopt good habits and keep them going, results will come and you start to take on the behaviour of someone who will succeed.

So, this New Year, rather than giving yourself reasons not to do anything or setting unrealistic goals which will leave you frustrated, why not work on getting the steps right?

That’s why I’ve put together a Getting Started Guide: how I went from elasticated trouser to fitting into my wardrobe. Get free access by filling in the details below…

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this blog are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this blog. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this blog. Midlife Menu Ltd disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this blog.

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