End Your Weight Loss Struggle in 3 Easy Steps

The moment that I realized that almost every weight loss rule was negotiable was the moment it stopped being so hard.

Don’t like chicken breast? Eat the dark meat.

Love sweets? Find a way to fit them in.

Don’t want to spend your entire evening in the gym? Embrace efficient exercise.

Really it was THAT simple but for years I struggled with my weight- getting it off at first and then keeping it off. The reason why I struggled so much was because I was trying to lose weight by following the rules- rules that were created without me in mind. Rules that didn’t care that I love dessert, that I would rather eat chicken thighs instead of breast most days of the week, and that I would rather be cuddling with my husband or playing with my kids than starting and ending every day in the gym.

Can you relate?

If you feel like you are struggling through your weight loss- either not getting results or hating what you are doing to get results- all it takes is a few steps to ditch the struggle and get on the road to significant, sustainable results.

STEP #1: Identify the sticking point.

This takes a little introspection and a LOT of honesty but you can’t fix what you don’t realize is broken. Look at your previous attempts at weight loss and identify where you struggled most. Did you religiously get in your workouts but have a hard time eating in a way that supported your weight loss goal? Did you do great with getting enough water and reduce your consumption of fried foods but found yourself overdoing it on the bread, rice, pasta, and crackers? Did you swear off dessert every Monday morning only to wake up knee deep in brownies?

You may be getting results but you honestly don’t like what you are doing to get results. Are you afraid to change it because you think releasing yourself from the struggle would mean giving up your results? I used to feel that way too and I can tell you that you don’t have to choose one or the other.

STEP #2: Understand what makes the most difference when it comes to weight loss.

When it comes to eating and exercising for weight loss, there are only a few things that make the list of BDs (big deals). The rest is negotiable and has little effect on the outcome if you are getting the BDs right.

STEP #3: Create a workaround that satisfies your preferences and respects the BDs of weight loss.

Once you know the BDs of weight loss, you are free from stressing over the NBDs that don’t really move the needle one way or the other. Understanding this gray area makes it easy for you to create workarounds that make what you are doing both effective and SUSTAINABLE.

Here’s how this looks in real life. I really like dessert and used to think that regularly enjoying dessert was something that I needed to give up to lose weight. I would give it up and lose weight but honestly felt punished. I felt like “if I didn’t have weight to lose then I could have dessert” and that feeling made me miserable. When I really started understanding the BDs of weight loss, I started to see the possibilities around regularly enjoying dessert AND losing weight. Sometimes I would create figure friendly desserts like my Bedtime Pudding.

At times when I wanted a regular dessert that would be lower in protein and higher in starch and sugar, I would practice the SSS Method. Both approaches were a workaround to one of the obstacles that caused a lot of struggle for me on my weight loss journey.

What did you think. Let me know in the comments below! And if you found this helpful or inspirational, be sure to share.