Episode 96: Six Traps to Avoid When Trying to Lose Weight

Once again, I have gained insight from a source far removed from food and fitness, that speaks directly to our journey to a healthy lifestyle.  A marketing podcast called Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn discussed terrible traps entrepreneurs fall into.  Those traps transfer right into the health and fitness world.  

Knowledge is power! Insight is power!  If you know the trap is there you can plan to avoid or overcome it.

Trap 1:  Expecting fast results.  

In today’s society we have become accustomed to getting everything fast, from our drive through cheeseburger to our internet. Therefore, we expect that losing weight and getting healthy will be just as fast.   The problem with this trap is the disappointment we feel when we don’t get the expected results quickly.  It is enough to make us throw up our hands and give up. If we could have just settled into the process, the results would have come.  The magic happens when the process is slow and steady.

Trap 2:  Putting your own personal bias into the health and fitness plan. 

Weight loss is never a one-size-fits-all journey.   Each person has their own specific needs which change along with their life circumstances.  Expecting to get results by following what works for someone else or what worked for you at a different stage of your life, is setting yourself up for disappointment.  If you can remove the bias of what you think you “should” be doing, it opens up mental space to get creative and think through new ideas that could fit today’s version of you.   

Trap 3:  Too much time overthinking what it takes for success. 

With access to the internet and social media only a fingertip away you can get in over your head researching diets, health plans, medical breakthroughs, etc.  Information overload can leave you anxious and confused about where to start.  The simple answer is to start at the very beginning.

Monitor your food intake with a food diary, so you have a visual of what is going in your mouth in a day.  Wear a pedometer to gauge your movement. Take inventory of your medical/emotional needs and make appointments as necessary.  Are you in a good spot emotionally? If not, schedule a therapy appointment.  Set up yearly doctor appointments and lab draws.  By starting with those basics, you will begin to feel the flow of good movement and insight. Then you can start making small tweaks like increasing or varying your movement or adjusting portion sizes and snack habits.  You will see progress.  

Trap 4:  Doing actions just for the calorie burn:

Being healthy involves much more than counting calories.  An intense spinning workout may burn a lot of calories but that may not be what your body needs.  On any given day you might need the mental stimulation & stress relief from a walk more than you need the calorie burn. Increased energy from choosing a salad for dinner (even if it doesn’t have light dressing) might do more for you than choosing a portioned/calorie controlled hot pretzel that will leave you hungry within hours, carb loaded and sleepy. You have to find other m