I really envy all my friends who are slim and full of energy. Why is life so unfair?

Answer

Life is not a rehearsal and there is no such thing as a magic weight loss fairy (or magic pill for that matter) which will turn you into a slim person overnight.

Instead of wishing you could be slimmer and full of energy, take a good look at just what you are eating and how much exercise you perform each week.

To both lose and maintain weight we need to reduce our total fat grams eaten per day to around 20-24 grams, eat three balanced meals and two snacks every day and exercise four times per week.

Remember, healthy people do it all the time!

• Exercise is too much like hard work, where do I begin?
• I don’t like jogging or walking, what can I do?
• I’m worried that I’m not getting enough iron. How much iron should I have each day?
• Are you getting enough calcium?
• How can I find time for breakfast?
• How can I get going without my coffee to start the day?
• How can I find time to exercise?
• I want a snack with flavour – what can I eat?
• How can I stop my friends sabotaging all my attempts to eat healthier?
• All I’ve ever eaten for lunch is a pie and sauce! What else is there for lunch?
• What should I be drinking?
• I work long hours. How can I find the time to cook?
• I dine out often! How can I lose weight and still do this?
• How can I be thin like the models in the magazines?
• My family loves all my traditional family recipes – I can keep cooking them and still lose weight?
• I’ve failed on every diet I’ve ever attempted! What’s gone wrong?
• Why do people keep offering me food and even if I say no, no, no they still push?
• Food is everywhere! Why do I get tempted all the time?
• How do those goodies just find their own way into my supermarket trolley?
• The kids demand I buy all those snacks! How can I say no?
• Why can’t I last more than a day on a diet?
• Why are lifestyle changes are so difficult to make?
• Why do I feel as it my life is stuck in a rut?
• I can’t afford to go on expensive pre packaged food diets – what can I do?
• I’d really love to be slimmer, but why do I think I will never succeed?
• There is so much conflicting nutrition information in magazines and on TV! What is really correct?
• I have a family history of diabetes – is it important I lose weight?
• I plan to eat well each day, why does it all fall by the wayside?
• Plateaus are so discouraging! What causes a dieting plateau?
• I don’t want to change anything! Why shouldn’t I keep eating the food I like?
• I lasted on my last diet for three weeks and then my mother arrived to stay and it all fell apart
• Why does everyone around me at work and at home seem so depressed and miserable?
• I’ve lost and gained weight back on again more times than I care to remember! Why does overweight keep finding me?
• I’d love to lose weight, but my husband says he loves me just the way I am. Is he telling me the truth?
• My whole family is overweight – if I lose weight, won’t I feel like the odd one out?
• I’ve got young children – how can I find the time to lose weight?
• Why does something always happen to prevent me from reaching my goals?
• I try to lose weight, so why do I fail each time?
• I’m so busy, is the only food that is quick take away?
• I really envy all my friends who are slim and full of energy. Why is life so unfair?
• Why do most of my friends say how bad everything is in their life and shoot all my attempts to improve myself down in flames?
• I’ve heard about “goal setting” but am a bit confused. How do you “goal set”?
• Do we really need 8-10 hours sleep each night?
• How can losing weight make me feel better?
• How can I exercise when it’s too cold to get out in the winter?
• Why do I feel such a sense of failure when I always put weight back on again after going on a diet?
• Why are my thin friends so lucky?
• I’ve thought about beginning so many diets in the past. Why can’t I never get around to it?
• I’d love to do all sorts of things in my life. Why is it that somehow I just don’t get there?
• I really hope I’ll be slim and happy one day – will it happen?
• Why doesn’t anyone ever do anything for me?