The Relationship Between Self-esteem and Weight Loss
By Danny Flood
Practically anyone can lose weight, but the people who keep it off are a rare breed. When it comes down to it, it’s not a complete mystery how they do it. They just maintain the behaviors that brought them to their healthy lifestyle. They continue to eat healthy foods, drink plenty of water and exercise.
According to Diane Berry, a nurse practitioner and postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Nursing, "Eighty-five to ninety percent of people regain any weight they've lost within 3-5 years." What about the other 10-15 percent? How do they keep it up? The secret to maintaining their results includes both a psychological and physical overhaul.
When talking with people over the years who have achieved weight loss success, I have found some patterns forming. Each person described themselves as self-conscious, vulnerable and unaware of events that contributed to the original weight gain.
With every weight loss story there is a moment where each person realized they have a problem and decided they needed to make a change. It could have been a comment from a co-worker or the realization that they needed to buy a bigger dress size. No matter the trigger, everyone decided at one time or another, they had had enough. As soon as they made this mental breakthrough, they were surrounded by their renewed energy and their fresh new outlook and enthusiasm to start their new journey.
The key to taking your healthy lifestyle from ideas to actual practice is by engaging in some important behavioral changes. Make sure you eat healthy foods with the correct portion sizes, drink lots of water, and get plenty of exercise. Take your new behaviors and incorporate them into your life until they become like second nature. Take advantage of your own support system made up of friends, family, and other positive people undergoing their own lifestyle change. Use effective methods to track your progress like journals and scheduled measurement and weight evaluations. Finally, get rid of all the quick fix ideas and realize that this is a continuing challenge.
It is very important to remember that it is difficult to change behaviors, both healthy and unhealthy, if they have been in place for long periods of time. Reaching your goals can be a complicated process and people will make mistakes. Its ok to fall. Falling teaches us to pick ourselves up.
People who have successfully changed their unhealthy lifestyle have not only altered their appearance and changed their health but have become different people. They have increased confidence and self-esteem as well as a feeling of control over many aspects of their lives. Self-confidence and self-esteem are important and necessary tools for successful long term weight loss. Self-confidence is an attitude which allows individuals to have positive yet realistic views of themselves and their situations. Self-confident people trust their own abilities, have a general sense of control in their lives, and believe that, within reason, they will be able to do what they wish, plan, and expect.You must believe in yourself, your willpower, and always stay focused on your goals. Self-esteem comes with pulling the whole package together, when everything starts clicking. It's a reinforcing cycle; food becomes more comfortable, serving sizes are understood, and the initial weight loss feels better physically.
Most people start their weight loss journey with the ultimate result being happiness with themselves. That’s why making the choice to live a healthy lifestyle is so important, it is something every person can do for themselves. It is an accomplishment they can be proud of every time they look in the mirror or inspire someone new to follow their example. We only have one body, let’s take care of it inside and out to insure a happy and healthy future. You will never be truly happy until you can believe and have faith in yourself and your abilities. Good Luck!
