Is Someone Hindering Your Weight Loss Plans?...an article I wrote in Jan 2010

I was paid 2.66 upfront for this particular article, I wrote this in January of 2010, as a non-exclusive article.



http://voices.yahoo.com/is-someone-hindering-weight-loss-5257187.html?cat=5





Is Someone Hindering Your Weight Loss Plans?
Are You Having Trouble Reaching Your Weight Loss Goals?



Who's hindering your weight loss plan? Is it you or is it your family?



Could it be your imagination that someone is seriously hindering your weight loss efforts?



Maybe, maybe not, you see it is can be very easy for someone close to you to hinder your weight loss efforts. Sometimes this is done purposely, other times it is subconsciously none the less your weight loss efforts are hindered.



So just what can you do if you suspect someone is hindering your weight loss plans? Well first you need to figure out if it is your imagination, or if someone really is hindering your weight loss goals.
What you can do is carefully keep track of what you eat and how much you exercise when you are by yourself, or are in control of what is spent on groceries. In other words do you shop differently when it is you who buys the groceries?



Also is there a difference in your activity levels when you are with your spouse all day or when you are alone. If you are not married is there a difference in how much you exercise when you are with your close friends and family? Do you tend to expend more energy when you exercise alone?


Does anyone near you encourage you to exercise, or do those closest to you encourage you to wait until later?



Well my friend later never comes. Also unless you are very diligent in what you consume and consistent with your chosen exercise program, you may find not only do you not lose weight but over time you gain quite a lot of weight.



So what can you do?


First if you can take control of the grocery shopping and menu planning, and preparation of all the meals this will be a good start. Now this can be very difficult to do if you are not the one buying the groceries. It is also very hard to do if you have no access to the grocery money.



So if you are not able to purchase the household groceries that you will be consuming then you may have to make do with what is coming into your household.



Now if you are making the meals you have some leeway even if a lot of things are coming that are designed or seem to be designed to spoil your weight loss plan.



What you can do if you are the one responsible for making meals from the groceries that are coming in, is to at the least serve yourself smaller portions. It is easier to do this if you are the one fixing the plates.



Also to discourage over eating what you can do is to fix everyone's plates. Then immediately wrap up anything that would have been seconds. And put it in the refrigerator for another day. Do this quickly before anyone notices what you are doing, and protests.



You can also make just enough to go around once.



Next no matter what everyone else is drinking claim you just want a glass of water, and then drink water. I've personally found that most of my calories come in the form of drinks, usually milk, orange juice, or tea.



So for the past year I've been working towards not consuming so many fluid calories. Also I've been making sure that Stevia is purchased often. Now instead of sugar I sweeten my sugar with Stevia.
Stevia has no calories, and has in some studies been shown to be beneficial for those who have diabetes'.



I tend to drink a lot of hot tea with cream and sugar, so doing this one thing has for me eliminated a lot of calories. And no one really notices what I am doing, because it still "looks like" I am consuming the same amounts. But I'm not.



Also I have made a point to drink more water. For me this is not easy, because I really do not like water. I did find it a lot easier to drink water this past summer though, as my husband was away a lot. I also found it a lot easier to avoid soda's, and even stores.



I only went to the store once on average per week, sometimes once every two weeks. I set a limit of exactly how many sodas would come into the house. My children found this to be quite distressing.



But it worked, because within a fairly short period of time my weight started dropping off. With practically no effort I lost around twenty pounds or so. This just from making sure sodas were hard to come by, my husband normally buys sodas every time he does out the door. And my kids know that, so the first few weeks were not pleasant as all my kids had to learn that I was serious. "When the soda is gone it's gone." And I only purchased one or two at the most for the whole week.



After a few weeks, even my children were drinking more water. Also after a time I was only purchasing sodas once a month.



And things were going well on my weight loss plan. I was also eating lots more salad, and popcorn.
By the time my husband came home I'd lost close to a hundred pounds. Ninety-two pounds to be exact.



Well since my darling husband has been home. I've noticed I've slowly started gaining again. And over the last couple of months I've gained quite a bit. I am not sure exactly how much because the scale is not working correctly at the moment.



I had thought in the past that it was maybe my imagination that my husband was sabotaging my weight loss goals, but now I am not so sure. Especially as I look back.



For example, every time he would notice I'd lost weight he'd want to "celebrate" by going out to eat, or by making me a cake and bringing it to me with ice cream, and sometimes even a home-made milk shake to go with it.



Now it is my fault for actually consuming these things that he brings to me. But this just goes to show how if you are not diligent and consistent with your goals at a weak moment someone close to you can sabotage your goals.



Also something to note, it was not just my darling husband who did this but also my mother, she would notice I'd lost a few pounds, and then proceed to bring me boxes full of desserts, or want us to come over to eat and then she'd insist on making the plates, and she's put way more than enough on each plate. And expect everyone to eat seconds plus dessert.



Now I am not saying that when someone is actively working to sabotage your weight loss goals, it is not your own fault for going along and helping. But if you know what to watch out for then you can be prepared.



This is especially true if you have a tendency towards depression. Because those closest to us are most likely to know the foods that are comforting to us, and are also most likely to know just what will trigger us into over eating.



So if you have been wondering if someone close to you can sabotage your weight loss goals the answer is absolutely yes.



In my next article I will deal with how to prevent or stop this from happening. Hopefully some of you will find relief knowing that it is not your imagination that someone has been working against you.