Willpower Is Not Enough To Lose Weight: What Is Your Motivation?

in #healt6 years ago (edited)

https://practicallongevity.com

Not only is willpower not enough motivation in the constant struggle that those who find themselves caught in when it comes to the idea of battling to lose weight, but the concept of will power in and of itself can actually be counter intuitive to those who wish to not only lose weight, but those who also want to manage their new-found physique once their initial weight loss goals have been achieved.

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The motivation to lose weight and then manage that subsequent weight loss, realistically, has to come from sources other than just a person’s power of will. Continuing will power can actually be exhaustive, and it is not realistic for anyone who is trying to maintain a lifestyle that involves them being of and existing in their ideal weight to think that having will power over their negative predilections can exist.

So, given all this, what can a person who is overweight do to realistically lose weight and then subsequently maintain that weight loss on a consistent basis? Well, the answer to that question is simply, to be realistic.

Understand that you are only going to want the things that you’re not supposed to have even more when you realize that you cannot or should not have them. You are going to have to make compromises with yourself in order to determine your future as a person that you are OK with when you look in the mirror.

Dr. Alex Likkerman wrote in his online blog titled “An Alternative to Willpower for Losing Weight,” that “Will power is not only among the weakest of mental forces, but in most people, it actually fatigues with continued use.” That about says it all. Will power is NOT enough when it comes to your motivation to not only lose weight, but to continue your weight loss.

Instead of counting on will power, Dr Lickerman suggests the alternative of what he refers to as the “slow carb diet” (as opposed to the no- carb or low-carb diet), which is an approach to dieting that entails not eating carbs for 6 of the 7 days out of the week, and then allowing yourself to “cheat” or indulge in carbohydrates on one day of the week as much as you want.

Because the excessive consumption of carbohydrates seems to be the primary culprit in terms of weight gain, this attitude and approach to dieting seems to give “the best of both worlds” to those of us who realistically will not be able to eliminate carbohydrates from our consumptive diets entirely.

This doctor’s feeling about this approach to weight loss for both himself (he lost 20 pounds that he needed to lose by using this method) and his patients was described by him as an “approach to weight loss that didn’t require calorie counting, knowledge of food groups, or portion control”, and for him and a plethora of his patients, it really, really worked.

Rather than relying on will power alone, this doctor suggests using the power of distraction when it comes to the struggle people face with eating foods that they KNOW are going to ensue in them gaining weight.

The idea that you are going to have complete self-control and over all will power is not realistic and will inevitably lead to failure in your attempt to achieve your optimal weight and maintain it in the long term.

He suggests distracting yourself with anything BUT food, such as music, books, exciting TV shows, or anything of the like, and allowing yourself to eat whatever you want on one day a week.

This just maybe a much more realistic approach to maintaining your will power when it comes to losing weight and keeping that weight off.

https://practicallongevity.com/best-raw-food-and-juices-for-energy-to-jumpstart-your-day