We all know that the vast majority of people who lose weight, regain it. And while we know that nobody who loses that weight actually wants to put it back on, somehow we’ve become really good at it! Some of us have spent a lifetime cycling between the fit and fat versions of us. We even have the small, medium, large and industrial sections in our wardrobe. What a miserable and frustrating cycle that is. And I’m not talking about minor weight fluctuations here, I’m talking about a range of 10-50 kgs (22-110lbs) or more. We get on and off the weight-loss roller coaster for a bunch of reasons but here’s what twenty five years of working with people in this area has taught me. My top five observations anyway…

    1. We don’t keep our head in the game.

    For a range of reasons, somewhere along the way we lose it mentally and emotionally. And when the discipline, the self-control and the can-do attitude go out the window, so does the new and improved body. Pity. We know that what happens below the shoulders is driven by what happens above them (our physiology is a by-product of our psychology), so for most of us, mastering our mind is the key to mastering our body. Creating life-long change (in this case, weight-loss) ain’t about carbs, protein shakes, treadmills or pump classes, it’s about what’s happening between our ears. I know that this is a message I share regularly but it still seems to be missed and/or overlooked by the masses; fix the head to fix the body. Do whatever you need to do, to maintain focus, commitment and momentum over the long term. And as for that whole “it takes thirty days to create a new habit” thing… crap. As a rule, it usually takes much longer. Very few of us (okay, nobody) will undo thirty years of destructive behaviours, habits and thinking in thirty days. As is often the case, the theory and the reality don’t actually merge.

    2. We do stupid things to our body.

    Oh how we love extremes when it comes to weight loss. Four lettuce leaves, two carrots, some diuretics, a few fat-blaster tablets and three workouts a day. Great plan. If you’re an idiot. And if you wanna lose a heap of fluid and muscle. And energy. And health. Extreme never works. Yes we all think our body is special and unique but… it’s not. It amazes me how many ’smart’ people do stupid things to their body. Drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, excess food, no food, no sleep, poor hydration, over-training and under-training, just to name a few. Be emotional and silly about your football team by all means, but not with the decisions you make about your body.

    3. We start things that we won’t maintain.

    We know that diets don’t work but geeeeze we’re good at doing them anyway. For a week. Despite being more educated than we’ve ever been, we (our society) still embrace what we know doesn’t work; the watermelon and air diet. And the boiled egg and grapefruit diet.

    4. We get in shape for events, but not for life.
    Yep, I’ve said it before, we’re great at losing weight for birthdays, weddings, school reunions, big social events and even summer. And then we’re great at getting fat again. It’s what we do. Don’t get mad at me, just take a look around. If only life was one long birthday, we’d all look amazing 24/7. We change our behaviour for a while, but on a level below our conscious (and temporary) behaviours, we’re simply waiting to go back to normal. Normal being the same behaviours that lead us to obesity in the first place.

    5. We don’t have a plan for life beyond the weight-loss.

    Some of us are pretty good at the losing bit… but kinda crap at the maintaining bit. We arrive at our destination (Skinny Central) and start to eat. And eat. And eat. After all we deserve it, we’ve been ’so good’. And then we wake up six months later and realise that our trim body has well and truly left the station. Toot, toot. Losing weight is relatively easy. Maintaining habits, behaviours and weight loss for life is the real challenge.

    大多数人减了再肥，肥了再减。谁也不想这样反反复复，不过我们却出奇擅长做这种事。有些人甚至一辈子都在肥与不肥间循环往复，衣柜里的衣服从小号到中号、到大号，到超大号一应俱全。这是个多让人灰心的循环呐！而且，我这里指的还不是一两斤上下的小变化，我指的是10-50公斤（22-110磅）甚至更多的体重变化。我们在减肥的过山车里上上下下，其实是有原因的。我和这些反复减肥的人打了二十五年的交道，发现了其中最重要的五条。

    1、减肥时，我们没有思考。

    有时候，是心理因素在激励我们减肥。一旦心里有了纪律，我们就能约束自己，并相信自己能够减肥成功。可惜我们却很少这样做。脖子以下的身体都受了脖子上面的大脑支配（就像生理学是心理学的副产品），所以，减肥要靠思维控制。要想完成像减肥这样的终身任务，靠的可不是碳水化合物、减肥代餐、踏步机或者健身课程这些玩意儿，靠的是我们大脑里有什么样的意识。这一点我多次强调但大部分人还是忽略了，要想减肥，请先“健脑”。尽可能地在这项长期任务中保持你的注意力、你的责任感、你的原动力。有人说什么“三十天养成新习惯”……在我看来一派胡言。远远需要更多的时间。很少人（其实是没有人）能够只花三十天的时间就能使得自己三十年的旧习惯旧思维土崩瓦解。人们的理论总是过分乐观地估计了现实。

    2、对身体，我们做了太多蠢事。

    对于减肥，很多人非常热衷于采取极端方式。一天吃四片生菜叶子、两根胡萝卜、一些利尿食物、几片减肥药丸、做三次运动……计划看起来很不错？傻瓜！这样做，你只能减掉水分和肌肉罢了，还丢了能量和健康。极端方式没得成功。虽然谁都觉得自己的身体与众不同，不过并非如此。看到很多所谓的聪明人对自己做这些蠢事，我感到非常惊异。服药、吸烟、酗酒、过量饮食或者不吃不睡、不适当地摄取水分、过度锻炼或者缺乏锻炼……这些都是非常不好的行为。看足球你可以感情用事，对自己的身体，千万别。

    3、我们总在做无法坚持的事情。

    明明知道节食没用，我们还是会做，哪怕只做一个礼拜。除非教育水平空前地提高上去，我们还是会做那些明知道没用的事情，比如西瓜减肥法、煮鸡蛋和葡萄柚减肥法等等。

    4、为了某件事减肥，却不为了生活减肥。

    参加生日聚会、婚礼、同学会、大型社交活动甚至迎接夏天都成了我们减肥的理由。活动一结束，我们就开始了增肥的历程。大家就是这么干的，别觉得我说话讨厌，不信你看看周围的人。如果人的一辈子就是一个漫长的生日，我们谁都会苗条无比。为了某个目的我们一时间改变行为习惯，这就使得我们在潜意识里期盼着回归正常。所谓的正常，无非就是做那些让我们一步一步走向肥胖的蠢事。

    5、减了肥，我们就失去了人生目标。

    攻城容易守城难，减肥目标实现，我们就开始吃、吃、吃，再长肉纯粹活该。做得这么水到渠成，不肥真冤。六个月后，我们恍然醒悟，发现自己已离初衷太远。于是再杀将回来。减掉几斤肉其实很简单，难的是一辈子保持良好的行为习惯，把成果保持下去。