Weight Loss Saboteur

DL mag dietitian and diabetes educator, Dr Kate Marsh, discusses the factors that often get in the way of weight loss success. Knowing these, and making plans to address them, can help you on your weight loss journey.

- Dr Kate Marsh

Lack of planning

Planning is your key to weight loss success. Without a plan it is all too easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and never get around to fitting in exercise or making those dietary changes you were aiming for. So plan your meals for the week, make time for shopping, set aside an afternoon to cook up some meals for the week and schedule exercise in your diary like you do other important commitments. Also consider cooking and freezing extra batches of meals like soups, casseroles and curries, so you have back-up for busy weeks or those nights when you just don’t feel like cooking.

Confusion about what to eat

If you’re unsure about what to eat, you’re certainly not alone. There’s plenty of confusing and conflicting information out there about good nutrition, particularly when it comes to losing weight. Yet, there is no evidence that one diet regimen leads to more weight loss than another. Instead, several studies have found that how well you can stick to a particular diet, rather than the diet itself, is the best predictor of weight loss. So, forget the latest ‘diet’ and find a healthy eating plan you can adopt and maintain for the long term.

Family and friends

Whether intentional or not, family and friends can often sabotage your efforts to lose weight. This might be by bringing less healthy foods into the house, serving large portions at meals, insisting that you eat something they have made at a family gathering or refilling your glass a few too many times.