4 Traits of Highly Successful Dieters: Why Some People Are Able To Lose Fat and Keep It off Long term and Why Most Don't
Written by Kris Einboden, GM and Professional Coach at The Six Pack Dad Tribe
Weight loss success statistics are grim. Only around 23% of people who attempt to lose weight lose a clinically significant amount, which is generally defined as 5% or more of their body weight.
The statistics on how many people lose weight and keep it off are even worse: 80-90% of people who lose weight gain it back within 3-5 years.
These statistics make it seem like trying to lose weight might not even be worth it. But there is hope.
At The Six Pack Dad Tribe, we’ve seen and helped hundreds of people beat the odds, and over the years, we've noticed four traits that consistently show up among our most successful clients:
- They plan and prepare.
- They focus on the process rather than the outcome.
- They take responsibility for their actions.
- They think long term.
1. They Plan and Prepare
They say if you don't have a plan, you plan to fail. This couldn't be more true when it comes to fat loss. Our most successful clients look ahead each day, week, and month and create a plan for how they'll succeed. This means grocery shopping each week, preparing meals in advance, stocking up on convenient, healthy snacks and meals for busy days or trips, and creating action plans for foreseeable challenges like travel, parties, and holidays. It also means making a good or better choice when the perfect choice doesn't exist.
A word I like to describe this behavior is intentionality. Too many of us run on autopilot with our health, especially our nutrition. We eat what we can, when we can. We snack just to snack. We put little thought into our decisions. A simple but powerful shift you can make is to think through how you'll eat a little healthier today. What meals will you have? What challenges might come up? What can you do now to make the better choice easier later?
2. They Focus on the Process, Not Just the Outcome
Our most successful clients focus on the process of becoming rather than obsessing over the outcome they want to achieve. That doesn't mean they don't care about their goals. They absolutely do. They just don't let those goals dictate how they feel about every day or week of progress.
They understand that weight loss takes time and that consistent improvements in their habits will produce results. They also understand that the number on the scale reflects more than their efforts in a single day. Daily fluctuations happen, and progress doesn't always follow a straight line. Rather than obsessing over the number, they focus on the habits and behaviors that will help them achieve it.
This may be the toughest mindset shift you need to make to succeed with your weight loss goals. So many people live or die by the scale. They do everything they can to make the number go down, and when it doesn't, they get frustrated and give up. They lose sight of the behaviors that will make them healthier and focus almost entirely on the number.
Instead of asking, "Why isn't the scale going down?" ask yourself this question and be brutally honest: "How consistent am I being with my habits, and does that align with what I'm seeing on the scale?" The scale is useful feedback, but your daily actions tell you whether you're doing the things that make progress possible. Focus on improving those actions, and give them time to work.
3. They Take Responsibility for Their Actions
Our clients who lose weight and keep it off long term take responsibility for their actions and their current circumstances. This may be the single biggest differentiator between those who succeed and those who struggle.
Taking responsibility for your weight can be uncomfortable. It's easier to blame genetics, family members, the food industry, finances, or your environemnt than to examine your own choices. Now, that doesn't mean these factors don't influence someone's weight. They absolutely can. The point is that blaming these factors does little to help you move forward.
You can't control everything that influences your situation, but you can take ownership of the decisions available to you. Nothing changes if you don't change. Stop making excuses and start viewing the difficulties in your life as challenges to overcome. Then figure out how to overcome them.
4. They Think Long Term
Lastly, our clients who beat the odds think long term. As humans, we love instant gratification. A realistic, sustainable weight loss journey requires the opposite. It's a form of delayed gratification. You make decisions today that may not produce noticeable results until weeks or months down the line.
This is another reason why focusing on the process is so important. What you do today may not move the scale tomorrow. What you do consistently over the next several weeks and months is what drives meaningful progress.
A long-term mindset is also important because the changes you make need to be permanent if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Many people approach weight loss as a short-term pursuit. They think, "If only I can get the weight off, then I can go back to normal." But that ignores an important reality: "normal" is what caused you to gain weight in the first place. If you don't change how you live your life at the core, then you'll likely find yourself back where you started.
Our most successful clients embrace the process of becoming someone new. They build a healthier lifestyle that makes nutrition, physical activity, and their overall well-being consistent priorities.
You Need Guidance and Support
Weight loss is hard because change is hard. That's why you shouldn't try to do it alone.
If you've failed multiple times before, you could benefit from the guidance and accountability of a coach. This is what we do best at The Six Pack Dad Tribe. Our mission is to be the last fat loss program you'll ever do. We focus on helping you make lasting changes that fit your life, not quick fixes that leave you starting over a few months later.
If you're ready to get off the weight loss roller coaster for good, book a call with us here.
We'll discuss your goals and explain how we can help you lose weight and build the habits to keep it off.