Written by Abraham Anjarkouchian, Registered Dietitian
Abraham is a registered dietitian and published researcher at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), he specializes in the gut microbiome, hormones, metabolism, weight management, inflammation and fibromyalgia. With over six years of experience and 400+ client transformations, he takes a science-backed, holistic approach.
Have you tried countless diets only to end up frustrated and right back where you started? You're not alone. As a registered dietitian with a master's degree, I've identified exactly why most weight loss attempts fail and, more importantly, how to fix these issues once and for all.
Discover the five fundamental roadblocks that have been sabotaging your progress and learn how to overcome them to finally lose those first 5 pounds this month.
What's really stopping your weight loss progress?
Weight loss seems simple on paper: eat less, move more. Yet, the reality is far more complex. Research shows that 80% of people who lose significant weight regain it within a year. This isn't because they lack willpower; it's because they're battling powerful psychological and physiological forces without the right strategy.
The good news? Once you understand the real reasons behind your previous failures, you can craft a personalized approach that finally breaks through these barriers. Let's examine the five fundamental factors that have been holding you back.
The fixed mindset trap: How your thoughts sabotage your results
Your weight loss journey begins in your mind. The single most powerful predictor of success isn't your diet plan or exercise routine; it's your mindset. Studies from Stanford University have shown that people with a "fixed mindset" consistently achieve poorer results than those with a "growth mindset."
What is a fixed mindset?
A fixed mindset believes that your abilities and traits are static—you either have them or you don't. When it comes to weight loss, this manifests as thoughts like:
"My metabolism is just slow."
"I'll never reach my goal weight."
"I'm just not meant to look that way."
"I don't have enough time to focus on my health."
These self-limiting beliefs create a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you believe change is impossible, you unconsciously create a reality where change becomes nearly impossible.
How to develop a growth mindset for weight loss
A growth mindset understands that abilities can be developed through dedication and work. This perspective embraces challenges as opportunities for growth and sees effort as the path to mastery.
Try this transformative exercise to shift your mindset:
Draw a line down the middle of a page
On the left, list all your self-limiting beliefs about weight loss
On the right, reframe each statement with a growth perspective
Example transformations:
Fixed Mindset Statement | Growth Mindset Reframe |
"My metabolism is just slow." | "I can optimize my metabolism through strategic nutrition and exercise." |
"I'll never reach my goal weight." | "With consistent effort and the right approach, I can make progress toward my ideal weight." |
"I always give up eventually." | "Each attempt teaches me something valuable that will help me succeed this time." |
This isn't mere positive thinking; it's creating the psychological foundation required for lasting change. Research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology demonstrates that mindset interventions can produce significant improvements in health outcomes.
Why you're not actually making your health a priority (even if you think you are)
The second crucial factor in weight loss success is honest prioritization. Many of us claim health is important while our actions tell a different story.
The prioritization problem revealed
You might be:
Spending money on daily coffee runs instead of investing in nutritious food
Prioritizing social outings that derail your nutrition plans
Putting everyone else's needs before your own health needs
Treating self-care as a luxury rather than a necessity
These choices reflect your true priorities, regardless of what you say matters to you.
How to make health your genuine priority
To create lasting change, you must elevate health to a top position in your hierarchy of priorities. This doesn't mean becoming selfish it means recognizing that your health is foundational to everything else.
Try this eye-opening priority audit:
Track your spending for one week and every dollar
Review your calendar for the past month
Log how you spend your time for three typical days
Now, analyze this data honestly. Where are your time, money, and energy actually going? This audit reveals your true priorities.
Once you've identified misalignments, make intentional shifts:
Redirect some discretionary spending toward health-supporting purchases
Block out time in your calendar specifically for exercise and meal prep
Identify one health-undermining habit you can replace with a health-supporting one
Remember: You don't need to radically overhaul your entire life at once. Start by making your health a slightly higher priority each week until it naturally becomes one of your top considerations.
The overwhelming mistake: Why changing everything at once dooms your progress
One of the most common weight loss mistakes is attempting a complete lifestyle overhaul overnight. This approach virtually guarantees failure.
Why the "all-in" approach fails every time
When you attempt to simultaneously:
Completely revamp your diet
Start an intense exercise regimen
Drink a gallon of water daily
Go to bed early
Meditate every morning
Cut out all processed foods
Eliminate sugar
You're setting yourself up for failure. This approach:
Creates overwhelming stress on your willpower
Feels unsustainable and extreme
Doesn't allow for the development of individual habits
Often leads to complete abandonment when one aspect slips
A study in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that people who try to change multiple behaviors simultaneously have a success rate below 15%, while those who focus on one habit at a time succeed over 80% of the time.
The power of awareness and incremental change
Instead of dramatic overhauls, successful weight loss starts with awareness, followed by strategic, incremental changes.
Try this five-day awareness challenge:
For five consecutive days:
Track everything you eat and drink without judgment
Note your sleep patterns and energy levels
Record all physical activity, even casual movement
Pay attention to emotional triggers for eating
Observe your hunger and fullness signals
After completing the challenge, identify your "low-hanging fruit" easy wins that could make a significant impact:
Perhaps you're drinking hundreds of calories through beverages
Maybe you're skipping breakfast and overeating later
You might notice you're sedentary for hours at a stretch
You could be eating out more frequently than you realize
Choose just one or two of these areas to improve first. Once these changes feel automatic (typically 2-4 weeks), add another small change. This "habit stacking" approach builds sustainable momentum without overwhelming your system.
The missing roadmap: Why you need a strategic plan for successful weight loss
Weight loss isn't a linear journey from point A to point B. It's a cyclical process with distinct phases, each serving a specific purpose.
The problem with directionless dieting
Many people approach weight loss by simply "eating less and moving more" without understanding the physiological processes involved. This haphazard approach:
Ignores the body's adaptive responses to calorie restriction
Fails to account for metabolic changes
Doesn't prepare you for what happens after the initial weight loss
Often leads to weight regain and metabolic damage
Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that 95% of people who diet without a strategic plan regain all lost weight within 3-5 years, with two-thirds gaining more than they initially lost.
Creating your personalized weight loss roadmap
A comprehensive weight loss roadmap includes distinct phases:
Maintenance phase (2-4 weeks)
Purpose: To establish your baseline caloric needs and stabilize hormones
Focus: Eating at your maintenance calories while establishing consistent eating patterns
Benefits: Stabilizes hormones, provides baseline data, prevents metabolic adaptations
Reverse dieting phase (4-12 weeks)
Purpose: To gradually increase metabolic capacity and optimize hormones
Focus: Slowly increasing calories while maintaining weight
Benefits: Upregulates metabolic hormones, increases energy, reduces hunger
Fat loss phase (8-12 weeks)
Purpose: Strategic calorie deficit to lose fat while preserving muscle
Focus: Moderate calorie deficit (typically 15-25% below maintenance)
Benefits: Sustainable fat loss without severe metabolic adaptation
Diet break/maintenance phase (1-2 weeks)
Purpose: Metabolic recovery and psychological relief
Focus: Return to maintenance calories
Benefits: Resets hormones, provides psychological break, improves adherence
Understanding these phases helps you contextualize your journey and prevents the common mistake of perpetual dieting, which inevitably leads to metabolic adaptation and plateaus.
The motivation secret: Finding your deeper "why" for lasting results
The final and perhaps most crucial element of successful weight loss is connecting with a profound, emotional reason for making changes.
Why surface-level motivation always fails
Surface-level motivations like "looking good for vacation" or "fitting into smaller clothes" rarely sustain long-term effort. When motivation wanes, as it inevitably will, you need something more substantial to keep you going.
A study in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found that people with deep, intrinsic motivation were 67% more likely to maintain weight loss after one year compared to those motivated by external factors.
How to uncover your true motivation
The "Five Whys" technique can help you discover your deeper motivation:
Ask yourself why you want to lose weight
Take that answer and ask "why" again
Continue asking "why" to each new answer
Repeat until you reach an emotional core. For example:
Why do I want to lose 10 pounds? To feel more confident.
Why do I want to feel more confident? To feel better in my clothes.
Why do I want to feel better in my clothes? So I can be more comfortable in social situations.
Why do I want to be more comfortable in social situations? Because I've been avoiding friends and canceling plans due to how I feel about my body.
Why does that matter? Because it's affecting my relationships and overall happiness. I'm missing out on life because of my insecurities.
Now, we've found a deeper motivation: reconnecting with important relationships and experiencing greater joy in life. This kind of motivation has staying power when the going gets tough.
Create a motivation statement from this exercise and revisit it daily, especially during challenging moments.
Your 30-day plan to lose your first 5 pounds
Now that you understand the fundamental reasons why previous attempts may have failed, let's create a structured 30-day plan to help you lose your first five pounds. This plan integrates all the principles we've discussed.
Week 1: Awareness and mindset (Days 1-7)
Days 1-3: Mindset foundation
Complete the fixed vs. growth mindset exercise
Write out your deeper "why" statement
Create a visual reminder of your motivation
Days 4-7: Awareness building
Track all food, beverages, and movement without changing anything
Note hunger levels, mood, and energy throughout the day
Identify patterns and potential "low-hanging fruit" opportunities
Week 2: Foundation building (Days 8-14)
Days 8-10: First habit implementation
Choose ONE habit to implement consistently:
Drinking 8 glasses of water daily
Walking 10 minutes after meals
Including protein with each meal
Preparing one additional home-cooked meal
Focus entirely on consistency with this single habit
Days 11-14: Environment optimization
Conduct a kitchen cleanout (remove or repackage trigger foods)
Prepare your environment for success (meal prep containers, water bottle)
Establish a consistent eating schedule
Continue with your Week 2 habit
Week 3: Strategic deficit creation (Days 15-21)
Days 15-18: Nutrition structure
Calculate approximate maintenance calories
Create a modest deficit of 250-500 calories per day through:
Slightly smaller portions
Strategic food swaps
Additional movement
Focus on protein intake (aim for 0.7-1g per pound of target body weight)
Continue previous habits
Days 19-21: Movement integration
Add structured movement 3-4 times this week (20-30 minutes each)
Focus on enjoyable activities rather than punishing exercise
Track your steps and aim to increase your daily average
Continue nutrition habits
Week 4: Refinement and consistency (Days 22-30)
Days 22-25: Progress evaluation
Take measurements and photos (weight alone doesn't tell the full story)
Review food and activity logs for patterns
Make small adjustments based on results
Celebrate consistency and non-scale victories
Days 26-30: Sustainability planning
·Identify challenging situations in the coming month
Create specific strategies for each challenge
Establish an accountability system (friend, coach, or community)
Set specific goals for the next 30 days
7 Common weight loss obstacles and how to overcome them
Even with the perfect plan, challenges will arise. Here's how to navigate the most common obstacles:
1. Social pressure and food-centered events
Social situations often derail weight loss efforts. Navigate them successfully by:
Previewing menus before dining out to make decisions in advance
Eating a protein-rich snack before events to moderate hunger
Practicing saying no graciously but firmly
Suggesting alternative activities that don't center around food
Having a beverage strategy (sparkling water with lime can replace alcoholic drinks)
2. Emotional and stress eating
Many people use food to cope with emotions. Address this by:
Developing an emotional awareness practice (journaling, meditation)
Creating a list of non-food coping mechanisms for different emotions
Implementing a "pause button" technique (wait 5 minutes before emotional eating)
Practicing basic stress management (sleep, movement, social connection)
3. Persistent hunger and cravings
Biological hunger signals can be challenging during weight loss:
Distinguish between physical and emotional hunger
Emphasize protein and fiber at meals to increase satiety
Stay hydrated, as thirst is often mistaken for hunger
Plan satisfying, volume-based meals (vegetables, lean proteins)
Use strategic timing of meals to manage hunger throughout the day
4. Time constraints and busy schedules
Busy schedules often derail weight loss efforts:
Batch cook core proteins weekly (chicken, eggs, beans)
Utilize time-saving kitchen tools (slow cooker, pressure cooker)
Identify quick, healthy meal options for hectic days
Break exercise into "movement snacks" throughout the day
Optimize sleep quality to make the most of limited hours
5. Weight loss plateaus
Weight loss plateaus are inevitable physiological responses:
Reassess portion sizes that may have crept up
Track food intake for a few days to identify drift
Vary exercise intensity or modality
Consider a diet break at maintenance calories
Focus on non-scale progress (measurements, fitness, energy)
6. Negative self-talk and perfectionism
Your inner dialogue can make or break your success:
Practice self-compassion when setbacks occur
Focus on progress, not perfection
Reframe "failures" as data points and learning opportunities
Celebrate small wins consistently
Develop a growth-oriented inner dialogue
7. Lack of support
Going it alone makes weight loss significantly harder:
Identify positive influences in your life
Consider working with professionals (dietitian, trainer, coach
Join communities with similar goals and values
Communicate your needs to friends and family
Find an accountability partner with similar goals
5 Advanced strategies for continued progress after your first 5 pounds
Once you've mastered the fundamentals and lost your first 5 pounds, consider these more advanced approaches:
1. Strategic nutrient timing
Optimize when you eat specific macronutrients:
Pre-workout nutrition: Carbohydrates for fuel
Post-workout nutrition: Protein and carbohydrates for recovery
Evening nutrition: Focus on protein and fiber to manage morning hunger
Carbohydrate cycling: Adjust carbohydrate intake based on activity levels
2. Progressive exercise periodization
Prevent adaptation and plateaus with strategic training:
Resistance training: Focus on progressive overload
Cardiovascular training: Vary intensity and duration
Recovery weeks: Planned deloads to prevent overtraining
Activity variety: Cross-training to engage different energy systems
3. Sleep optimization
Sleep quality directly impacts weight management:
Consistent sleep schedule: Same bedtime and wake time daily
Sleep environment: Cool, dark, and quiet
Evening routine: Relaxation practices and blue light reduction
Morning light exposure: Resets circadian rhythm
4. Stress management protocol
Chronic stress sabotages weight loss through hormonal pathways:
Daily mindfulness practice: Even 5-10 minutes makes a difference
Nature exposure: 20+ minutes daily reduces cortisol
Strategic recovery: Active recovery vs. complete rest
Social connection: Quality time with supportive people
5. Data-driven adjustments
Use metrics beyond the scale to guide your approach:
Body measurements: Track changes in waist, hips, chest, arms, and thighs
Progress photos: Visual documentation of changes
Performance metrics: Strength, endurance, flexibility
Subjective markers: Energy, mood, sleep quality, hunger levels
Transform your weight loss journey starting today
Losing weight and keeping it off requires addressing the fundamental reasons why previous attempts have failed:
Shifting from a fixed to a growth mindset that embraces challenges and learns from setbacks
Making your health a genuine priority by allocating your time, energy, and resources accordingly
Starting with awareness and incremental changes rather than overwhelming overhauls
Following a strategic roadmap with distinct phases for long-term success
Connecting with your deeper motivation to sustain effort when challenges arise
Remember that losing your first five pounds is just the beginning. The real victory isn't reaching a number on the scale; it's creating a sustainable approach to health that allows you to live fully and joyfully.
The journey won't always be easy, but by addressing these core principles, you're setting yourself up for success in a way that previous attempts may have missed. Take it one day, one habit, and one choice at a time.
Your future self will thank you for starting today.
Ready to take action? Start with these 10 steps today
Complete the mindset assessment by listing your fixed mindset beliefs and creating growth mindset alternatives.
Start the five-day awareness challenge by tracking your food, movement, and patterns without judgment.
Conduct the priority audit to see where health currently ranks in your life.
Use the "Five Whys" technique to uncover your deeper motivation.
Identify one "low-hanging fruit" habit you can consistently implement this week.
Create a simple environment modification that makes healthy choices easier.
Establish one accountability mechanism (journal, app, friend, or coach).
Schedule your health activities in your calendar as non-negotiable appointments.
Write your future vision in vivid detail and place it somewhere visible.
Commit to consistency over perfection by deciding how you'll respond to inevitable setbacks.
Remember: The most important step is the one you take right now. Your weight loss journey doesn't have to be perfect to be successful; it just needs to begin.
Are you ready to transform your approach to weight loss and finally achieve lasting results? I'd love to help you create a personalized roadmap based on your unique situation. Scroll down to fill out the quick assessment form, and I'll personally reach out with specific recommendations tailored to your goals.
Read more from Abraham Anjarkouchian
Abraham Anjarkouchian, Registered Dietitian
Abraham is a registered dietitian and the founder of Abraham Dietitian and Abra Yoga. With expertise in gut microbiome, hormones, metabolism, weight management, inflammation, and fibromyalgia, he takes a science-backed, holistic approach to health. His research at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) has shaped his evidence-based methods, helping over 400 clients achieve lasting transformations. With over six years of experience, he empowers individuals to break free from restrictive diets and build a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. His mission: To simplify nutrition and create real, long-term change.
