The past year has been incredibly stressful for many, and only time will tell how COVID-19 has affected the physical and emotional future well-being of people around the world. If you’ve found yourself turning to food to deal with the stress of the pandemic, you’re not alone. 

No matter how much you read about getting healthy and getting to a healthy weight, it can be tough to stay consistent. You know what you need to do to lose weight — but it’s hard to stick to the plan, especially in times of stress or celebration. Many people have both psychological and physical issues that can make it hard to lose weight and keep it off. 

Here, we’ll explore some of the most common issues experienced by people who want to lose weight.

Motivation And Willpower

Most dieters have been there: it’s day one of the plan, and they’re totally on board. Healthy food is in, junk food is in the trash… and it goes well, until about three days later. No matter how much you swore in the beginning that you’d stick to the plan no matter what, you get hangry, or it’s a co-worker’s birthday, or you’re at happy hour — something inevitably gets in the way. After a “slip,” you decide that it’s better to just start again next week. The cycle perpetually continues. 

Motivation and willpower feel invincible at the start of any diet plan, but they aren’t enough to keep healthy habits going long-term. Solid habit formation is an essential part of creating a sustainable weight loss plan. This can be tough to do alone, and registered/certified dietary and fitness professionals can provide guidance to help you form the healthy habits that will get you to your goal.

Access To Healthy Foods

Some areas of the United States are known as food deserts — areas in which it’s extremely hard for some people to gain access to healthy foods. Food deserts are far more common in the Midwest, South, and Western regions of the United States than in the Northeast. 

Common characteristics of areas classified as food deserts include: 

• High levels of unemployment/low-income community
• Large urban environments/extremely rural environments
• No public transportation, or poor public transportation systems
• Few grocery stores and other food sources willing to sell fresh foods at prices appropriate for nearby populations

Many people who live in food deserts do not have the means to get to fresh, healthy foods. This can make it difficult to lose weight.

Health Issues

Many people have health problems that can make it hard to lose weight. Sadly, some conditions become a downward spiral when paired with poor nutrition. Depression, hormonal issues, chronic stress, thyroid problems, insulin resistance, and other conditions can go hand-in-hand with weight gain. Many people with these conditions (understandably) feel defeated and may seek comfort in food to dull the stress of living with a difficult health condition.

Getting Healthy Naturally Is Tough — But Worth It

It’s not easy to make the habit changes associated with losing weight, especially if you suffer from certain health issues, live in an area that makes it difficult to access fresh and healthy foods, or have other issues that make it hard to eat healthily and exercise regularly. 

If you’ve thought about turning to diet pills for help, you’re not alone. While diet pills can cause a fast drop in weight, the potential side effects associated with these medications are not worth the potential positive effect. Between 2012 and 2020, many people took the prescription weight loss drug Belviq intending to slim down, but instead, were diagnosed with cancer. Studies have shown that Belviq is related to increased cancer risk.

Diet Pills And Your Health

Understandably, many people turn to diet pills, especially when the deck seems stacked against them when it comes to losing weight the natural way. Pills like Belviq may produce fast results, but the potential side effects of Belviq aren’t worth the possible positive effects. 

If you’ve thought about resorting to diet pills, it’s a better idea to talk with your primary care physician about a referral to a registered dietician. A dietician can work with you to help you make healthy, sustainable changes within your budget and ability (including your access to food and any health issues), and can help you set small weight loss goals and provide the accountability you need to keep you on track.

Did You Take Belviq? What To Do Next

If you or a loved one were diagnosed with cancer after taking Belviq, you may have a viable lawsuit against Arena Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of the drug. While there is not a current class-action lawsuit against Belviq, lawsuits against the manufacturer of the drug are being compiled into a mass tort case (for more information on how mass tort cases work, take a look at our comprehensive guide). 

You took Belviq to improve your health, but for many, that’s not what happened. If you were diagnosed with cancer after taking Belviq and are interested in pursuing legal action, reach out to us for a free case evaluation.

To read more about this case, click here.