Breaking down barriers

Losing weight is not easy. Human beings are pre-programmed to seek out and eat food. Thanks to the way we have evolved, we find it easy to feel hungry but much harder to know when we are full. Just think how hard it is to skip a meal, but how easy it is to give in to having that delicious dessert after a big meal.

We all make excuses about why we cannot lose any weight. Perhaps, you have even said some of the following. Well, let us set straight those myths.

I am always hungry
In actual fact, for most of us, emotional eating is just a bad habit. The best thing you can do is to ask yourself: am I really hungry? It may be that you are actually thirsty – so have a glass of water and see if that helps. Maybe, you are just bored – in which case food will not help. If you do find you are constantly hungry, why not try taking Appesat™ before each meal which is clinically proven to help people feel fuller for longer.

I have no willpower
Losing weight is hard and we all slip up occasionally. The trick is to not let set backs throw you off completely. Why not write down the reasons why you decided to lose weight in the first place? You can take a look at this when you are feeling low.

My weight just seems to creep back on
Creeping weight gain is usually the result of only tiny changes to your diet, which are just enough to tip your energy intake levels over the edge into ‘too much’. To avoid this happening to you, when you start your diet, keep a weekly record of everything you have eaten or been drinking, what the portion size was like and how much you exercised that week, together with how much weight you lost. This will help you pinpoint the tiny changes that help to shift the weight, or which are making it come back on. Remember Appesat™ can help you want to eat less.

For more information on our new diet program: Your Appesat Plan click here

I have got a slow metabolism
Everyone can boost their metabolism and make it more efficient – regular exercise is the best way to do this but diet changes can also help. To lose weight you simply need to use more calories than you eat and drink each day.

I am too busy to exercise
Research shows that any exercise is better than none – even walking up stairs rather than taking the elevator each day will help. Why not get an exercise buddy? They make exercise more fun, which will help you find the time to do it.

But, being realistic about the path ahead, and accepting help where and when it is available will help you as you embark on your weight loss journey.

Take a look at the following advice, it will help you get off to a good start.

Take small steps
To lose weight healthily, you should only aim to lose 1–2 lbs a week, so do not expect to see results daily. Make a note to weigh yourself at the same time of the same day each week. Not only will you see real results this way, you will get a better picture of how things are going over the longer-term.

Set achievable targets
Successful weight loss takes time and patience. At 1–2 lbs a week, losing 24 pounds should take at least 3 months. So why not set yourself a mid-way target, say, 8 pounds in a month? This is much more manageable and reaching it will give you the sense of achievement you need to keep going.

Do not think you have to eat a low calorie diet all the time
We all need calories to function properly – diets with too few calories will rob you of essential energy and nutrients. To lose weight, women need between 1,400 and 1,800 calories a day, men between 1,750 and 2,250 calories.

You do not have to crash diet
Experts all agree that crash diets DO NOT WORK in the long-term. Starving your body of essential nutrients puts it into starvation mode, making you hold on to calories for energy. Over time, many crash dieters end up gaining more pounds than they lost originally.

Do not skip breakfast
Eating breakfast not only kick starts your brain and your system for the day, it has also been shown that people who eat breakfast tend to eat better as they do not go for fattening or sugary foods to fight energy slumps later in the day.

Reward yourself. You deserve it
Successful diets still allow the odd treat. The joy of weighing yourself weekly is that you can still enjoy the occasional treat – as long as it is just that – occasional! Whether your ‘favorite treat’ is a cake or a glass of wine, you can still have it, as long as you make a calorie cut-back somewhere else.