Over the past week, we’ve been discussing how you can use your past weight loss experiences to your advantage.  If you’ve been following along, you should now have some clear (or at least somewhat less fuzzy) strategies to work into your new diet plan, strategies that are just right for you.  Not only have you made note of what worked really well for you, but you should also have a handy little list of what bombed.

Today we’re going to wrap up this segment with the last piece of the puzzle.  Now that you’ve had the chance to take that little walk down memory lane and relive some of your previous weight loss efforts, let’s discuss the final question on our list. 

When you tried to lose weight in the past, why did you give up and call it quits? Or, why did you gain weight after reaching your goal weight?

To be frank, these are the sort of questions most folks don’t want to think about when they’re just gearing up for a new diet. Why?  Because they remind you that you’ve been down this path before and yet here you are…again. But don’t lose heart! Many goals worth achieving take more than one try, and as the ole’ saying goes, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! 

So though it might be a tad unpleasant (and perhaps a bit like calling up an old ex and rehashing what went wrong with the relationship), take a long minute to think about why past diets ultimately failed.  It might have a lot to do with some of those obstacles and frustrations you’ve already jotted down.  Or perhaps other pressures and obligations just got in the way.  Maybe you really didn’t care for the food choices or simply got burned out. 

Regardless of the reason, remember that most diets are meant to be a quick fix to get quick results, but temporary change will only give you temporary results.  Once a goal weight is achieved, many dieters quickly fall back into their former eating habits and—lo and behold!—the scale slowly creeps back up. For lasting weight loss, a lifestyle change must occur. Therefore, when choosing a weight loss plan, it is important to make changes you can stick with over the long haul.

Though the idea of real lifestyle change may seem daunting, you are now armed with powerful information no diet book could ever offer. Having examined both your successes and failures, you can begin to create an action plan that’s perfectly suited to you for weight loss that will last.