1. It is just a diet. This implies that once you have lost your weight you can go back to your old eating habits. Not so, my friends. Eating better, no matter what plan you follow, has to be a lifestyle change that you make for the rest of your days. A "cheat" meal here and there is acceptable, but once you have joined the healthy eating club you have to be a member for life in order to maintain a healthy weight. I am not at my healthiest weight yet, but I finally feel like I got it right and can feel my momentum picking up speed. After almost six weeks of consistent weight loss I know this is the way I'll eat for the rest of my life. 2. I don't have (time) to exercise. Wrong again. Diet isn't everything when it comes to weight loss. Besides, physical activity is so good for your body and your mind, and in so many ways. It affects bone density, strength, oxygen consumption, muscle mass. It even increases mental clarity, mood, and concentration. You have to make time, even if that means making yourself accountable to someone else. Join a gym, join a team, or find a friend or two that can help keep you on track. I finally joined a gym. Because I was worried about my own accountability I even sucked up the cost of regular personal training sessions for the next year. Some may see it as an unnecessary expense but I see it as a way to guarantee my success. 3. I don't have the willpower. It doesn't take willpower to change your habits. What it does require is motivation, determination, and planning. The bottom line is you will be fat until you decide it matters enough not to be, and then DO something about it. I had fought with my own weight for years. This past summer I was the heaviest I've ever been. I finally looked at myself and my choices and said "Enough!". When you have finally had enough of feeling fat and unhealthy, willpower won't matter. 4. I can eat whatever I want, so long as I eat less. No. A thousand times no. You need to nourish your body, not just feed it. Any food plan you choose must be three things: made up of fresh real foods, healthy, and sustainable. No Jenny Craig, or Nutrisystem, or any other plan that makes your food for you will work long term. You need to shop, plan your meals around healthy foods, and cook for yourself. No other system will work for you in the long run. 5. I'll just have weight loss surgery. I struggled with this idea myself for quite a while. I read up about the different kinds, the costs, and the side effects. I actually even convinced myself that it was the answer for me until a friend's daughter died due to complications from an infection. The infection wasn't from her surgery, but because of her surgery it was harder for her and her doctors to effectively fight it. Weight loss surgeries may give you great weight loss results, but they come at a huge cost-both personal and financial. Even after surgery most patients must follow a strict diet to makes sure they don't become malnourished. If you can't change your diet to lose the weight, why would you assume you will change your diet effectively after surgery? The risk of death shouldn't be your main motivator. Weight loss surgery also carries with it the risk of trading one unhealthy behavior for another. Overeating isn't much different (for some) than any other compulsive addiction. Alcoholism, drug use, and excessive gambling fall into the same category. Personally I'd rather fight fat that those other addictions. Wouldn't you? Source
