You’ve got to know what to do, how to do it, and you’ve really got to want to do it! If you’re after sustainable weight loss, the crucial combo of knowledge, skills and desire will help ensure your success. The awesome thing is that this simple combination of factors can be applied to whatever you’re trying to do. So if you’re learning to drive a car, or trying to make healthier eating choices, this combo for success works in just the same way. Miss out one of these elements and your goal will be unreachable until the gap is filled.
Let me give you some examples. You’ve done your driving theory test and scored 100% (knowledge). You want to be able to drive and be independent more than ever (desire). However you go out and bunny hop along, stall in the middle of the traffic lights, and get an earful from your dad in the passenger seat! What are you missing? Skills! So maybe you haven’t quite reached your goal yet. However, you have the desire to get out and try again, and you know what you need to do. Therefore practicing the skill is the only missing link to getting you there.
Applying the formula for sustainable weight loss
The same concept can be applied to sustainable weight loss. You definitely want to do this – summer’s coming up and you want to be able to show your arms with confidence. Your favourite jeans only come halfway up your legs. Your knees hurt going up and downstairs due to the added weight, and you’re sick of needing a nana nap every afternoon! In this case there’s no doubt that the desire to achieve sustainable weight loss success is strong.
You’ve planned in workout time five days a week. Regular supermarket shopping times have been arranged, and you’ve even started preparing your lunch the night before. Evidently, you have developed the planning and preparation skills needed for success. But you’re not losing weight (in fact you’re putting it on), and the exercise is painful. What’s missing? Knowledge! And if you don’t find some soon that desire might start slipping away because it all seems pointless.
What if you’re lacking in desire?
That’s something only you can find yourself. If it’s not important enough then chances are that you won’t do enough to get an end result (whether it be driving that car or losing weight). Find out the importance of ‘knowing your why’ for successful goal setting and getting by reading this article. Or if you’re desperate to lose weight but no willpower is in sight, read this one about the willpower gap.
If you really don’t have enough desire, find something else you really want to do. Then go out and find the knowledge and skills to back up that desire.
So where to now? Identify what you want and see what link(s) are currently missing. Then take steps to fill in those gaps. For those driving skills, maybe you need a driving instructor, rather than your dad to help you out.
For more knowledge on sustainable weight loss success, you’ll probably need a health and fitness coach like me to set you up with a safe and effective exercise program and to help you out with your food choices.
(Make sure you also read about these top healthy foods that support weight loss).
Want to learn more about sustainable weight loss?
Get a reality check on sustainable weight loss and find out how to make your body burn fat. If you’ve been reading my articles for a while you’ll know that I don’t promote quick fixes or magic silver bullets. Instead, my focus is on holistic weight loss.
If you know that weight loss is about more than just nutrition and exercise, then you can find out how to focus your efforts for weight loss success. Also, find out how energy blocks can affect your weight loss results.
To retrain your brain, try these effective NLP techniques for weight loss success.
For a personal weight loss story, find out how Katie lost 43 pounds without fad dieting (and kept it off).
You may also want to learn about the value of incidental exercise for weight loss and the reasons why healthy food choices can be over rated. Finally, the 80-20 principle can help you take the next step towards healthy habits for long term weight loss success.
Hi Elly,
It would be great to get posts that address “out of the box” situations. Including metabolic problems blocking weightloss, and how to successfully overcome them.
Thank you ?
Hi Sharon
Thanks for your comment. That’s a great suggestion as I know many people, especially women, are suffering from these ‘out of the box’ situations. Different conditions all have their own pathology and of course, each person is unique and will experience their own set of symptoms. Going into the specifics of metabolic disorders is outside of my area of expertise but I will certainly post anything that I think could be of value for anyone in this situation.
Definitely work with one or more practitioners who are experienced in the condition you’re having challenges with. Ask them how many patients they have seen with the same condition and what the outcomes were. That can be a good start when determining who to work with.
This article is a good place to start in terms of considering whether a metabolic problem could be hindering your weight loss efforts.
Nutritional biochemist Dr Libby is an expert in this area. Her book ‘accidentally overweight’ explains the nine factors that influence whether the human body is getting the message to store body fat or burn it. This should help with determining the action points needed to make a break through with hormone related weight loss issues.