10 Reasons Why It's Hard to Lose Weight

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Weight-loss commercials tout the ease with which you can lose weight. Just take this pill, follow that diet, or buy this piece of equipment. Billions of dollars are spent yearly on weight-loss products and services, and yet millions remain overweight.

Why Is It So Hard to Lose Weight?

Your body is designed to store fat for times when food is scarce, making losing weight challenging for most. Factors include genetics, age, race and ethnicity, diet, physical activity, and hormones.

If you struggle with weight loss, you know there are no shortcuts. One key to losing weight is to burn more calories than you eat. As easy as that sounds, it usually isn't. It's not just about finding time to exercise or choosing the salad over the burger; it's about making a genuine commitment to your health daily. Here are 10 things you'll need to consider to get on a healthy track for weight loss.

Your Attitude

If you're only on a health kick to lose weight or look a certain way, it will be hard to lose weight permanently. Weight loss is a fine goal, but finding something else to motivate you can help.

It takes time to lose weight, and you need to motivate yourself throughout the journey. One way is to find more reasons to be healthy. Remind yourself of all the benefits of exercise, including increased energy, better moods, and an improved night's sleep, to name a few.

Keep an exercise journal and write every success, regardless if you're losing weight. What you think about yourself and exercise is the key to staying committed. No one wants to do something they find miserable, so think of how you can turn it around and look at exercise in a new way.

Your Workouts

It's hard to lose weight if you don't work out consistently. Yes, it's possible to lose weight by dieting, but you'll likely hit a plateau at some point.

You don't need to spend hours in the gym; you only need to set up a reasonable workout schedule that you can follow each week. It's not about killing yourself with workouts—it's about finding something you like and that you'll continue with for the long term.

That means getting rid of activities you hate and building a program around what you enjoy, even if it doesn't exactly follow exercise guidelines. You have to be willing to be more active regularly—not just for a week here and there.

Current U.S. guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week. Aerobic activities should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes.

Your Diet

Changing your eating habits is essential for long-lasting weight loss. That means consistently working to replace unhealthy foods with healthier choices.

Some ideas to help include:

Pay attention to what you eat and make good choices for permanent weight loss. A structured diet eventually ends but healthy eating never stops. In other words, there will never be a time when you're done eating healthy, at least not if you want lasting weight loss.

In the end, it's not about cutting out everything you love. You can enjoy indulgent foods, just not daily. It comes down to being willing to take an honest look at your diet and, even if you change one thing at a time, figuring out how to reduce calories.

Contrary to popular myth, burning 3,500 calories will not guarantee exactly one pound of weight loss. However, cutting 3,500 calories each week can still be an effective long-term weight loss strategy. You can cut 500 calories per day by reducing your food intake in combination with exercise.

Your Lifestyle

If you want a healthy life, you have to be willing to change how you live. It doesn't mean changing everything overnight but being open to new ways of doing things. Among things you might change for a healthier life:

  • Break unhealthy daily routines. Get up earlier to prepare your lunch or squeeze in a workout, use your lunch hour for exercise, or go for a walk instead of sitting. People use a busy schedule as an excuse not to be healthy. Don't fall prey to this trap.
  • Watch how you spend your free time. You might need to set new rules limiting how much TV you watch or how long you sit at the computer. Pay attention to how you spend your time and where you're out of balance so you can add movement.
  • Clear your pantry of junk food. No matter how committed you are, having something unhealthy in front of your face will make things harder. Set up your surroundings so they support your goals rather than sabotage them.

Your Environment

Sometimes you can't control the things around you. At work, you're surrounded by temptations—donuts, vending machines, and coworkers bringing junk food. And what about your home?

Surround yourself with things (and people) that support your efforts to get healthy.

That might mean spending money on home workout equipment, setting up a corner of your house for your gear, or commandeering the TV a few nights a week to do an exercise video.

Set up an environment that encourages healthy choices. Sometimes, walking into your kitchen and seeing a bowl of fresh fruit may be enough to remind you of what you're trying to accomplish.

Your Support Systems

While getting healthy may be something you do on your own, it helps to have a support system. Get weight-loss support from friends and family who understand what you're doing and are willing to participate or help.

If you have a spouse who wants to continue eating foods that tempt you, plan so you can still reach your goals and keep your relationship. Surround yourself with people who support you and avoid people who don't. A workout buddy is also an excellent idea for support.

Consider forming or joining a weight-loss group. Ask friends, relatives, or co-workers to join you. You can start or find a group on Facebook, Meetup, or via the nonprofit Obesity Action Coalition.

Your Mental Health

If you have other reasons for being overweight—past trauma, depression, or other problems—it's challenging to lose weight. For many, food is a comfort and something they rely on to help them deal with emotions. Pinpointing these behaviors and what drives them is key to becoming aware.

A counselor can help you learn more about emotional eating and how you might be doing it without realizing it. Learn why you make choices and confront them.

To find a qualified weight-loss counselor in your area, speak with your doctor or use the online locator provided by the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy.

Your Goals

If you've set impossible goals, you are guaranteed to fail. Weight loss becomes hard to achieve if you feel like a constant failure. No one will feel motivated if they feel like a failure.

If that's your weight-loss experience, it's no wonder you keep quitting. The key is to set reasonable goals. What is reasonable for each person varies depending on genetics, eating habits, exercise, and metabolism, to name a few.

You're better off setting a long-term goal like losing weight or competing in a marathon. Focus your attention on daily or weekly goals, like three cardio workouts. Pick activities you know you'll achieve so you're always successful. It can be as small as you like, as long as it's reachable.

Your Inflexibility

You hear a lot about lifestyle changes, but it's daily choices that test you. What happens if you have to work late and you can't get to the gym? What if you get stuck in traffic and miss your fitness class? Any number of things can happen in a day that may throw you off track.

The trick is to be flexible. It helps if you're always prepared. Keep workout shoes in the car so you can stop at the park for a quick walk. Keep some food handy, so if you get stuck in traffic, you get a snack before your workout.

If you can't do a 45-minute workout, give yourself permission to do what you can, even if it's 10 minutes. Something is always better than nothing.

Your Unwillingness to Fail

You will not be perfect every day. If you're a perfectionist, you should understand that we can't control every aspect of life.

On good days, you'll eat all your fruits and veggies, say no to that pizza, and work out even when tired. On bad days, you'll wake up late, forget to bring your lunch, have an extra piece of cake at your friend's birthday party, or skip your workout.

Bad days will happen. The trick is to never give up, even when you mess up. Work on overcoming your fear of failure and remember you're not a loser just because you make some mistakes. You're simply a person trying their best to make good decisions.

7 Sources
Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Additional Reading
Paige Waehner

By Paige Waehner, CPT
Paige Waehner is a certified personal trainer, author of the "Guide to Become a Personal Trainer," and co-author of "The Buzz on Exercise & Fitness."