It's so frustrating! A friend of mine is dealing with some serious weight issues. Nearly passing the 350 lbs mark he's really trying to turn things around, yet he doesn't really seem to be getting anywhere. He has tried changing his lifestyle several times, yet never really accomplished any long term results.

Last month I tried convincing him to give it another try. I offered my personal support during his entire journey, I even proposed a bet in which I promised a large chunk of change when he reaches his initial 100 pounds weight loss goal. This deal was a 100% win - win situation. But this has all been to no use.

"What's going on? Why aren't you getting anywhere?" I asked. "I'm just not motivated", he replied. He's probably right, but there's a lot more going on besides this motivational thing. I know he has attempted a healthier lifestyle in the past, I know he can be motivated. There are other forces at hand preventing him from reaching his fat loss goal. Social forces, psychological forces, cultural forces and maybe even political forces which are hard to influence.

There's a lot more that concerns fat loss besides a healthy diet and regular exercise. Even a comprehensive 16 Fat Loss Tips article could leave you desperate and clueless when you're faced with a 100 pounds or more fat loss journey.

Let me quickly touch some of the often underestimated aspects in life that can really make or break any fat loss plan.

1. Family Traditions and Habits

"What are we having for dinner today?" An often heard question in just about any family household. Now, unless you're living it up in a big mansion and you can afford a private chef,... you'll probably be having the same as everybody.

When your family loves junk food just as much as your tummy does, chances are you're facing a mission impossible trying to stay healthy. You could have all the motivation in the world, but even then, things can go ugly pretty quickly. We all know how bad those cravings can be, right?

As a kid I had a love - hate relationship with food. I ate just about everything in sight! It was creepy. I had to tell my parents time and time again they should stop buying cookies, ice cream, sodas and microwave pizza's all the time. It was the only way for me to stay clean permanently. I use the term clean here because junk food can be very addictive, just like drugs. You don't light up a cigarette near someone trying to quit smoking either, do you?

Changing just this aspect of our lifestyle took me and my family a lot of time and effort. If you want to make some drastic changes in your own lifestyle, you might want to consider convincing your family to join in on your journey. It's not going to be easy and you can definitely use some mental support. The last thing you need is a family indulging on snacks everyday while you're learning to appreciate fruit and veggies.

2. Local Food Politics

In an earlier post I talked about the Farm subsidies handed out by the United States Department of Agriculture and how they result in a huge food surplus on the US market. Not only does this result in very low priced food, compared to other countries, it also leads to food companies offering their food products in way oversized quantity packages, forcing people to eat more than they really should.

Then again, you could rightfully comment, "Hey! Just buy the smaller packages and stop whining!". Great idea, if it weren't so that smaller packages are actually more expensive, relatively, than larger items. While politics probably had the initial intention to prevent hunger in America with these Farm Subsidies, the effect has turned out to be way less humanitarian than hoped for.

And the story doesn't stop right there. Your local food politics can also determine what ingredients are used in food. Did you know High Fructose Corn Syrup is nearly exclusively found in the US? Europeans don't have to worry about High Fructose Corn Syrup, neither do Australians. Fact is, if you ask a European about High Fructose Corn Syrup, he'll probably have no idea what you're talking about. Why's that? Because Europe uses sugar from beets instead of corn, and High Fructose Corn Syrup can only comprise 3% of the total sugar production.

3. Income Level

Families on a low budget are often faced with a dilemma when out grocery shopping. "Should we buy this microwave junk food and pay less?" ... "Or should we spend an even larger portion of our budget on healthy food, such as fresh fish, fruits and vegetables, and assure ourselves of a healthy lifestyle?".

While you might say the second option is by far the best one, it's not as easy to stick with as it sounds. Junk food is not only much cheaper, it often tastes better, it's addictive, you get the quantity and it's easy to prepare. Nonetheless, things are possible even on a low budget. Here are some general tips for healthy food shopping on a low budget:

• Find the quality, yet affordable stores in your neighborhood
• Buy food in bulk when possible (especially grains and oats, which can be stored easily)
• Introduce more oats in your diet. It's one of the healthiest and cheapest foods available on the market.
• Follow the seasons and buy what's cheapest at the time.
• Learn ways to conserve leftovers and present them in new meals
• Buy healthy food that lasts long: grains, dried fruits, frozen vegetables,...

4. Local Geography

Do you live in a big city with huge roads and gigantic malls, such as is the case in Dallas, Texas? If you answered yes, you're not very likely to do your errands by bike or on foot. On the other hand, if you live in a small town where your job and stores are all within reasonable distance, you can quite easily incorporate exercise in your daily routine. These things might not seem as much of a big deal when trying to reach your fat loss goal, but in the long term, it really is.

5. Peer Pressure or Support?

Do your friends support your healthy lifestyle endeavors? Or do they give you a hard time saying things like "Enjoy your rabbit food" or "Real Men drink Beer"?. Peer pressure can be a devastating factor when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Be aware of this and when necessary, find support from other people. Consider joining a weight loss support group or talk about your fat loss progress online. Being positively reinforced by others can be a night and day difference when trying to reach your ultimate fat loss goal.

6. Confidence and Self Esteem

A very often underestimated factor when trying to lose fat is confidence. I remember how I had major issues myself when I first started living a healthy lifestyle. I was actually too afraid and too self conscious to show up in a gym. I kept imagining how everbody's going to be eye-balling me all the time, while laughing and pointing.

It's a horrible fear which many people are faced with on a daily basis and it's important you're aware of this! Don't let this thought take control over your life. Get yourself out there and show them what you're capable of! You'll be surprised how many people are actually very friendly and supportive when they see how you're making an effort.

And if you cannot take comfort in the fact that this fear will surpass overtime, you've still got the option to setup your own little gym at home. Miracles can happen with just a treadmill, some weights and a workout bench! Don't buy fitness gear "As Seen on Television" though. Stick to what's been known to work for years.

7. Time Consuming Sedentary Hobbies

Back in the days,... (says a guy in his twenties) television used to be the only thing hogging up all our precious free time. Today, however, there are many other lifestyle choices which result in some serious ass downtime.

Let's take the gaming lifestyle as an example. Since the rise of the Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) genre a few years ago, with World of Warcraft by far the most popular, a new breed of gamers has emerged and they are freakishly in love with their virtual lifestyle.

These gold mining and boss raiding war mongers take their virtual world very seriously, often neglecting things going on in their own real life. "Why would you exercise and eat healthy, when you can be anything or anyone you want to be online?". Do you envy a fit and muscular body? Pick a mean looking Dranei or Taurus character and voila, you're set to go, all with just one mouse click!

Now, to be honest, I really can't blame these gamers. Gaming is fun, addicting and very often a lot more enjoyable than real life stuff. I used to be a passionate gamer myself for years, and I enjoyed this lifestyle a lot. Yet there comes a time when you need to start considering real world stuff as well. This is the place where things actually matter the most.

Don't let your life pass by watching TV or playing games. Really, the possibilities are endless. Get outdoors and do something useful with your time!

8. Knowledge and Education

With "Learning a Healthy Lifestyle" as my blog subtitle I firmly believe in education as a way of promoting a healthy lifestyle. Without the proper knowledge it's nearly impossible to survive in today's trans fat filled world of junk food.

Sure, you could just keep advising people to 'eat healthy foods' and 'exercise regularly', but when you don't know which foods classify as "healthy" and which don't, you're not going to see any results. Same thing goes for exercise. You can keep doing those crunches everyday and get abs more solid than Arnold in his hay day, but if you don't know that cardio and proper nutrition will shred the fat that covers those abs, they will stay invisible forever.

To conclude this post, ... did you know the Island group Okinawa in Japan has the inhabitants with the highest life expectancy in the world? The inhabitants grow older than 100 years on a regular basis, while still remaining active. Okinawa is propably the ultimate proof for the fact that there's a lot more that concerns a healthy lifestyle besides motivation, exercise and healthy nutrition. You should definitely consider reading The Okinawa Program if you're interested in their healthy traditional way of life.

Feel free to share your own experience dealing with the aspects that helped or prevented you in your journey to a healthier lifestyle by leaving a comment below.

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Comments (7)

Great post!
written by Skip Kanester , May 17, 2008

Terrific info and so true. "Eat right and exercise more" are not enough, and that's assuming that the person knows HOW to eat right and exercise. Understanding and shifting your lifestyle is the long term solution, and lifestyle is not only what you do on a daily basis, but what influences what you do. First understand WHY you do the things you do, then set about changing them.
Great info, thanks!

...
written by Miguel Pineiro , May 17, 2008

Excellent article, interesting fact about High fructose corn syrup. I was somewhat informed about it. I agree with your point about education, many people are clueless.

Watch out for those video games, haha but seriously, games are fine. In moderation, this applies to eating, to playing video games, etc.

I really like your site. Email me sometime I'd like to chat with you about something. Have a nice weekend.

Great article
written by Charles Lumia , May 17, 2008

That is really great information for anyone trying to be healthy.

Lots of it really hits home, and I'm not in bad shape or anything, I exercise regularly and eat healthy, but I still hear things like you mentioned in:

5. Peer Pressure or Support?

So many people think it's funny to bully my diet, it's disgusting really. The way that many in our culture look down on people that are trying to be healthy is just sad.

I don't know what it is, jealousy perhaps? Either way, it really is a sad situation when people will make fun of you for eating leafy greens...

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written by Nico , May 17, 2008

@Charles, yeah I think there's very likely some kind of jealousy in there... It's just sad how people sometimes respond to you eating healthy stuff...

@Miguel, thanks for the kind words =) ... video games are really just fine, yeah, but sometimes they can be very addictive, just like food, and then you just play all day long for months, which isn't very good as well =)

I'm curious what you need me for I'll send an email sometime :)

@Kanister ... thats sooo true, I knew all these things before, but I had forgotten about them really... because I am aware of these things myself, it just made me forget about them all to often... It's atleast 50% of the whole process!

Oh and, Thanks for the visits =)

You have been tagged
written by Weight Ladder , May 19, 2008

to produce your very own 6 word memoir...
www.weightladder.com/2008/05/19/healthy-happy-wealthy-and-wise/

...
written by Nico , May 19, 2008

Nice.

I'll try to come up with something =)

Lovely idea, who came up with it?

Keep it up!
written by David Webb (Photographer and Computer Geek) , May 19, 2008

Nice list. In my opinion, whenever breaking or making a habit, one of the hardest things is keeping it up. It's so easy to lose focus and just think "oh, well one won't hurt" but it's important to keep on track and not let any exceptions get in the way of the goal.

Cheers,

David