Many factors play a role in how your body utilizes macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates and fat. Some of these are environmental, some are social, and some are genetic. Any combination of these factors can make losing weight harder. Weight loss is difficult for many reasons so today let's talk about why it is so hard!

Mentality

It can be hard to keep up motivation when wanting to lose weight, especially if this is your first time trying. Weight loss is not a miraculous thing that happens overnight, it takes time to see and feel measurable changes. If it does happen quickly, it generally is fleeting and the weight returns just as quickly.

It is also important to pay close attention to your mental health. Weight loss can be especially hard for those that fight with mental health due to the fact that food is a very common comfort item. Becoming aware of these behaviors is the first step in your journey. Too often, you may look to sugar to feel better - because it does give a good dopamine spike.

But, over time, like any other addictive substance, the dopamine-induced feel-good moments become less frequent, less intense, less reliable. The crashes afterward become stronger and more often. That combination leads to a downward spiral of sugar consumption; obviously, this is not ideal for weight loss.

Lifestyle

For many people, losing weight quickly is easy for them; however, losing weight quickly is neither ideal nor healthy. To lose weight in a healthy and maintainable way you will need to change your lifestyle.

But, do not stress out! That will not help at all. Take the changes slowly and at your own pace. If it takes you several years to meet your weight loss goals, then so be it!

Start off small. Take short walks and make small changes to your diet. You will eventually be more confident in the changes you are making and feel excited to make a new change to your lifestyle. You never know, maybe you will run a marathon someday!

Maybe you have a bad day or cannot resist having that one big bowl of ice cream for breakfast. That is okay as long as you understand setbacks happen and you can still make progress.

Changing your lifestyle will help you keep off those pounds you want to lose.

Diet

Admit it, we all love food. Those sugary and greasy foods we love so much are actually addicting. Dopamine gets released when you eat food heavy in sugars and fats.

More and more healthy food options are available these days. Try to stay away from refined sugars and highly processed foods. If you eat a lot of sugar and want to stop, you should. But, you should also understand that it will be hard initially. Sugar, like any addiction, will take about 5 weeks to quit. The first couple of weeks will be daunting.

Consider your portion sizes. The US tends to have larger portion sizes in comparison to many other countries. Food waste is a massive problem in our country and is not very good for the environment. That said, sometimes it is OK (for your personal health goals) to throw away part of your meal. One of the tenants of the Okinawan way of life is to leave 20% of a meal on the plate.

Even if you can only change one part of your diet at a time, it is a step in the right direction.

It Is Okay To Fail

No one is perfect. We all fail sometimes. With weight loss, you cannot be a perfectionist. You are going to have good days and bad days. And that is okay. The best thing to remember is that it is for your health. Many of the benefits will not be apparent to you right away. Over time, even with very slow weight loss, you will just feel better and do more.