by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: October 20, 2009

This is an impatient society where people expect things to be done right away - nobody wants to wait for anything, which is probably why so many people fail when it comes to weight loss. Ideally, you're only supposed to lose between a pound and two pounds a week, but if you have a substantial amount of weight to lose it is going to take quite a long time to do so, and many people simply can't be bothered to stick to a healthy eating plan and to continue exercising for the amount of time required for them to achieve their goal.

Consequently, the weight-loss industry is as profitable as ever, with increasing numbers of people seeking a quick-fix for their weight problem. There are so many diet pills, shakes and meals, plans and support groups available that you're pretty much spoilt for choice if you decide to lose weight. What continues to make the weight-loss industry as profitable as it is, though, is the high rate of failure. Many overweight individuals are desperate to lose weight, conditioned by society into thinking that being skinny is more desirable, and thus spend huge sums of money on an array of products that claim to be able to help them lose weight.

Sometimes these products do help you to shift a few pounds, but usually not for very long, and so you end up right back where you started. People just can't seem to get their heads around the long-term commitment required to successfully manage their weight. If you want to lose weight you have to continually watch what you eat and make time to exercise on a regular basis. The fact that fad diets continue to be popular, despite their ineffectiveness, demonstrates that people are only prepared to control their eating for a short amount of time in order to get the most effect.

Losing weight takes time, though, as if you want to shed the pounds without jeopardising your health you can only reduce your calorie intake by so much. If you don't eat enough food then you will just be risking your health, and you won't necessarily achieve your weight-loss aims anyway. However, anybody can find their patience being tested when you put so much effort in and seem to get so little out. You look at people featured in magazines who were supposedly able to lose 50 pounds in eight weeks, and watch those television shows where bariatric surgery patients lose hundreds of pounds within months, and you can't help but want this for yourself.

It can be difficult to remain patient, but if you want to achieve your long-term weight loss aims it certainly helps to be, and thus you should lower your expectations about how much weight you can realistically lose so that you can hopefully succeed rather than giving up altogether.

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