Weight loss is hard. Very hard even. One thing that does not help is ignoring basic and inescapable truths. This is head-in-the-sand denial and it is very counter-productive. A good example is the arithmetic of weight control.

In vs. Out

People gain weight when they take in more energy (more calories) than they use or burn up. Eat lots, move little, gain weight. When we use more calories than we consume, we lose weight. Eat less, move more, lose weight.

This rather old-fashioned view of weight control seems to have been forgotten by many of us. A lot of diet-plans and too-good-to-be-true weight loss programmes ignore it. Because it is a hard truth. Hard to accept. Hard to change. Hard to manage. We do not like hard truths and we do not pay for things we do not like, so the sellers of “magic” weight loss programmes, knowing this, avoid these hard truths like the plague. But we shouldn’t. Because in weight control, like so much in life, even hard truths need to be accepted and dealt with.

There is more to weight control than JUST this (quality foods, glycaemic index, maintaining a fast metabolism, complex psychological and emotional aspects, etc.) but the basic arithmetic of weight control is a primary principle that simply will not go away.

The bottom line – If you’re struggling with weight control you might do well to consider or reconsider this very basic and very important principle: if you want to lose weight you do need to eat less and or move more.