Research shows that chronic stress can affect your metabolism, promoting fat storage, and increasing cravings for sugary, high-fat “comfort foods. I don’t know about you but those things sound like things we all want to be avoiding when we are focusing on getting healthier, especially if weight management is one of our top priorities. So if you’re adding extra stress on yourself about the numbers on your scale, you could be stacking the deck against yourself. Take the quiz below to find out if your expectations about weight loss are creating a road block on your path to better health.

Stressing Over Weight Loss Quiz

(Answer True or False for each statement)

1. I am prepared and able to do a considerable amount of physical activity on a daily basis, including planned exercise.
2. I have acknowledged the idea that I need to make permanent changes in my lifestyle to lose weight and keep it off permanently.
3. I will feel victorious only if reach my weight loss goal.
4. If my weight loss slows down or stalls, I typically lose my motivation and stop my program.
5. I know that it took time to gain weight, and I believe it is best to lose the weight slowly.
6. I am working on weight loss now because I really want to, not because someone else thinks I should.
7. I have taken a careful look at my eating and exercise habits, and I have a good idea of what I need to change and how I want to do it.
8. I have many demanding situations in my life right now, but I’m determined to be successful at weight loss.
9. If I can manage to lose the weight, I think many other troubles in my life will be solved.
10. I can lose weight successfully with no slip-ups.
11. I am ready, willing, and able to spend enough time each day planning and tracking my food intake and exercise.
12. When I am having trouble sticking to my plan, I usually get on the message boards or the phone and talk about it with other people.

Scoring the Quiz

Look at your answers to questions 1,2,5,6,7,11 and 12, and give yourself 1 point for every True answer, and 0 for every False. For questions 3,4,8,9, and 10, give yourself 1 point for every False answer, and 0 for every True. Add your total points up to get your score.

What Your Score Means

12-7 Points: Congratulations! Your expectations about weight loss are fairly realistic, and you are more likely to reach your goal. To decrease your stress about weight loss even further take a look at those you scored 0 on and explore ways you can gain perspective on them.

6-4 Points: You have some unrealistic expectations about weight loss, and these are likely causing you some unneeded stress. Take some time to evaluate which ones you scored 0 on and explore how you can gain some perspective on them.

Under 4 Points: Your expectations about weight loss are pretty unrealistic. You are adding much added stress to yourself because of this.  Take some time to evaluate which ones you scored 0 on and explore how you can gain some perspective on them. If you find you can’t gain more perspective, reach out for some help from a qualified professional such as your doctor, a therapist, etc.

Questions for You:

• Where you surprised by your score?
• What ways to you keep your expectations in check?

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Quote of the Day: “How we perceive a situation and how we react to it is the basis of our stress. If you focus on the negative in any situation, you can expect high stress levels. However, if you try and see the good in the situation, your stress levels will greatly diminish.” ~ Catherine Pulsife