3 Weight-Loss Mistakes Successful Women Make

nagina-abdullah

Nagina Abdullah

MOLECULAR & CELL
BIOLOGY, UC BERKELEY

October 13, 2014

Man eating burger.

A friend of mine can’t fit into her favorite designer jeans. She couldn’t accept that she needed a size up, so meanwhile she had been wearing the same jeans and feeling incredibly uncomfortable in them. The thing is, it had been months, maybe even more than a year, since her jeans fit her.

My friend had weight loss on her mind every day. She had a successful career, kids and a busy life — and though losing weight was a priority, it seemed like everyday emergencies prevented her from fitting back into her jeans.

Below are the 3 mistakes she and other successful women make that prevent losing the first 10 pounds. I have easy solution right after — so keep reading.

Mistake #1: You find it near impossible to resist temptations while working

When I started working with one of my nutritional weight-loss coaching clients, who is a successful finance director in NYC, she told me a story about how her boss would frequently order donuts for her office. These donuts would be at his desk, and she had to walk past them on the way to the ladies restroom — and on the way back. When she would walk past, he would call her over and always offer her some (and it was her boss. . .). This whole situation made having a donut impossible to resist.

When youre working in a demanding career — whether youre at the office or working from home, if there’s unhealthy food, especially sweets or bread rolls, sitting around in the break room, kitchen, or at your conference table, it feels almost impossible not to eat some.

Mistake #2: You don’t have meals ready when you’re hungry

A good friend of mine, a successful entrepreneur with 2 kids, desperately wanted to shed weight and gain more energy. “I want to lose weight, but the reality of implementing a healthy menu and shopping is hard.”

Many of us forget about planning meals until we are already hungry. The idea of thinking about what to eat, making sure you have the groceries, cooking, then cleaning, is totally exhausting. You want to just “know what you are eating for the day, eat it and be done with it.”

When food is not ready and you’re hungry and tired, you end up eating fast, convenient and usually unhealthy foods (quesadillas, cereal, cheese sandwiches, heavy rice or bread) – or call for take out – and that’s never very healthy.

Mistake #3: You find comfort in typical “comfort” foods
At the end of the day you are tired. You just want to come home and relax — and you want to eat food that will make you feel good. So you reach for an indulgent comfort food — and feel great for the moment . . . followed by guilt that you are “not trying hard enough” to lose weight. You need to feel comforted when you come home and the foods that provide that for you go against your weight-loss goals.

As a Management Consultant working in a demanding firm and traveling every week, I figured out how to overcome these mistakes that I also was making – and I lost 40 pounds (while I was in my 30s and after 2 kids) WITHOUT going to the gym for hours a day (I don’t have that kind of free time).

The secret to my weight-loss? It’s my recipes and my system for easy cooking. I created dozens of recipes that are easy to make and filling. They taste so good that I actually LOVE eating them – and that makes me stick to a healthy diet and resist temptation so much more easily. Recently, I posted a picture of my husband and I at a wedding on FB.

couple

A friend from college posted this comment:”girl, you look SO hot. Omg.”

That small sentence made me realize how different my life has become. I don’t think anyone would have given me a compliment LIKE THAT 15 years ago. I didn’t even like seeing myself in pictures back then! Ive lost 20 pounds more than when I was in college, when I was 22!

My recipes — and the system I developed to make them fit into my busy life — are powerful and they work. You can get a FREE copy of my Weight-Loss Recipes Book for Busy Women below.

If you’re looking for exercises, check out this article: 44 Quick Effective Weight Loss, Body Shape Exercises for Women.

Avatar photo

Nagina Sethi Abdullah, BA, MBA

Nagina Abdullah is a health coach for middle-aged women and professionals. She coaches women to boost their metabolism naturally, shed pounds and keep them off. Her work with weight loss clients led to the creation of Masala Body, an online weight loss platform that provides an easy and accessible system that helps women sustainably lose weight. She has helped over 1200 women successfully lose from 10-80 lbs and create a sustainable lifestyle change. Nagina earned her degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Nagina says

      Laura,

      Thanks for letting me know! I would love to come there soon!

    • Nagina says

      Deb,

      Thanks for letting me know! That’s my hometown and i would love to do a class there sometime soon!

  1. Fiona says

    Nagina, your husband and you make wonderful couple and you look stunning!

    A bit out there but would you consider doing this online?

    • Nagina says

      Fiona,

      Thank you so much. You are so sweet and I really appreciate your compliment! Fiona that is a great idea! I will definitely see if I may be able to do a cooking class online in the near future!

  2. Pooja says

    Nagina,

    Love reading about your journey.
    Would you consider coming down to LA?

    • Nagina says

      Pooja,

      I’m so happy that you find my journey interesting. I would love to come to LA – I’ll definitely keep it as an option for future cooking classes.

      Thanks,
      Nagina

  3. Radhika says

    Would love to attend a class in Chicago!

    • Nagina says

      Radhika,

      I was born in Chicago and would love to teach a class there. Thanks for your interest!

  4. Devi says

    Let me know when NYC class is. I’d love to attend.
    ps. Are you going to include vegetarian options? 🙂

    • Nagina says

      Devi,

      I am definitely going to include vegetarian options. I look forward to receiving your application (link in post).

  5. louise says

    You look fabulous in your sheath shift dress! Good luck with your courses, I wish I could make it to the US to attend. Maybe soon, thanks again for the invite, Louise

  6. Kelly Santiago says

    You look absolutely sensational. It’s a great thing that you’re doing for other women.

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