Focus On What Is Attainable for Your Body

As many as 70% of American adults are overweight. Unfortunately, for the estimated 77% who are trying to lose weight, the success rate will be rather low due to a total lack of mental preparation. While the food industry may create an unhealthy supply of salt, sugar and fat in every grocery store from coast-to-coast, the key lies in quieting your stress response center to make it easier to avoid the temptation.

Whenever your weight changes, your brain will intervene. However, what you think your weight should be may or may not be consistent with what your brain prefers. If you avoid yo-yo dieting, you can ultimately lower your set point weight so that your body is satisfied with a smaller, lighter you. Start by adopting a diet of unrefined, simple, low calorie-dense foods.

• Stay Accountable to Yourself - Obesity is a disease and should be treated as such. It is important to work with a weight loss specialist or dietitian to personalize a menu plan that's right for your body.
• Exercise Willpower - Making a list or lists has proven to be helpful to many dieters who wrote down what they planned to eat and compared it to everything they did eat. Writing it down will keep you accountable to yourself and will help identify any recurring problem with certain foods.
• Dieting Alone Doesn't Work - When you constantly start and stop dieting, it creates a vicious cycle that makes losing weight and keeping it off difficult. Instead, just focus on eating and living healthy all of the time.

• Establish a Routine - Quick fixes do not stick, so it is important to make a commitment to a long-term strategy for losing weight. Remember, a successful commitment comes from a solid strategy to focus your mental and physical energy.
• Get Enough Sleep - Getting enough sleep is almost like having a magic wand. When you are sleep deprived, it is difficult to pass on junk food or make yourself go to the gym. Get plenty of rest and you'll have the energy you need to make better choices.

Setting the wrong goals at the beginning can set you up for failure. The same is true for adopting a goal that is too vague, so set smart goals that are attainable and meaningful to you. Since stable blood sugar levels equate to stable stress hormone production, eating nutrient rich foods may help heal the body rather than simply mask symptoms. Moreover, unmanaged stress often causes the body's self-control systems to fail.

It is important to start from where you are and focus on what is attainable. If you want to cook more healthy meals but have limited experience with food preparation, checkout the recipes at the Metabolic Research Center and get acquainted with healthy ingredients. Losing weight is a challenge that millions of Americans struggle with every year. Without a healthy mental attitude, their success rate of weight loss will be quite low.