MANILA, Philippines?Most people trying to lose weight may just decide to stop trying and thus gain more than their initial weight.

Others will reach a plateau. Studies and people?s experiences show that to go past the plateau, one must change or increase activities or try to reexamine current eating plan.

But what if you?ve done everything and there?s still no progress? Maybe it?s not your body or your situation that works against your weight loss, but your mind.
Try a different approach.

Thinking: ?I will just take a rest the whole week and just make up for it the next week.?
These are the procrastinators who keep putting off physical activities.

A recent study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reveals how if you put off exercises, you gain weight. The eight-year study of more than 40,000 runners suggests that daily physical activity is needed to prevent significant weight gain. Male participants in the study lost a significant amount of weight only when 25 km was completed per week, 48 km for women.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that those who want to lose weight may need to exercise 60-90 minutes per day. Think of how much physical activity you need to make up the following week when you stop exercising this week.

Try a combination of physical activities rather than sticking to the same activity, to avoid boredom.

Be aware of your ideal heart rate so you know when your exercise is too intense. When you are trying to lose weight, stick to moderate intensity which is 60-80 percent of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) so you can last longer and have more energy to move the next day.

Avoid exercising for more than 90 minutes a day to prevent burnout and physical injuries. If you exercise longer, you might make it as an excuse to reward yourself of longer rest days.

Thinking: ?I like to be free to eat what I want to eat.?

People are busy these days so they eat at fast-food restaurants.

Your structured diet may not suit your lifestyle, so you?re tempted to abandon the program.

Try a flexible eating approach, as found in a new book ?Eat This, Not That!? by David Zinczenko. It?s eating what you want and still losing weight, and considering better food choices when you eat at fast-food restaurants.

If following a very structured meal plan or diet is not realistic, think of healthier food alternatives. It will prevent you from feeling deprived. Finding your own alternatives will make you feel you are in control of your weight-loss program.

Choose foods wisely. Consult weight-management professionals on which foods to choose, what amount to take in daily, and how to face high-risk situations especially when you are out with your friends or family.

Thinking: ?I just want to give up now because it?s hard to exercise.?

When physical activity is seen as something difficult to maintain, there is great chance of you giving up the weight-loss process.

One of my clients I?ve been observing for almost three years now tend to become too motivated to exercise one moment and, in the next, would stop when he feels tired. At last he is able to identify strategies to make him continue his weight-management program.

Here are his tips, in his own words:

Watch movies or read books you can relate to. I just watched the movie ?Run, Fat Boy, Run.? It inspired me to get back again to running after recovering from a full marathon. I also read the book ?The Spirit of the Marathon,? a collection of short stories of people who finished full marathons.

Reward yourself, for instance, with a new exercise outfit, to motivate you to keep on working out.
Give yourself a treat, like have your favorite foods, but not too much so that you will regain what you?ve lost for the week.

E-mail the author at mitchfelipe@gmail.com