One of the many factors that deter our already low self-esteem is the fact that many of us do not have the perfect body-mass index, all thanks to the Bengali tradition of having two rice meals a day. Some of us are too lazy to do anything about it and cry ourselves to sleep after munching on a full plate of biriyani while others hit the gym and fork out diet plans.

Healthy eating and maintaining a proper diet is essential for you to look like your ripped next door neighbour. It's easier said than done, however. Keeping up with a strict diet for weeks can turn out to be a task more arduous than ever and some annoying factors contribute to the inability of reaching our goal.

Stress

Following a healthy eating plan while having too many things to do is something that many fail to accomplish. The weariness from being overworked induces hunger and thus the need for carb-rich food. Along with a diet, it is also necessary to be rested and to have the appropriate hours of sleep. It's only normal to assume that a busy person finds it hard to maintain their diet.

Boredom

As we easily get bored with too much of anything, the consumption of the same type of food for a long period of time can lead to monotony as well. Depending on mainly fruits and vegetables for all our energy can often entice our minds into remembering the old delicacies we are forced to avoid. What other options do we poor souls have other than to dive into heavenly, unhealthy junk food?

Clumsiness

Most of us have only ourselves to blame for failing to complete a scheduled diet plan. Carelessness and lack of persistence and will power others can be attributed to this. For those of you who fail to resist the temptation of munching on that last piece of pizza left in the fridge: learn to love your own fat self!

Family

Is it customary for our mums to cook all our favourite delicacies the day after we announce our intentions of eating healthy? As if force feeding yourself with unsavoury food is not bad enough, the sight and smell of the biriyani your mum made makes you question the value of your very existence. Dawats and presence of unhealthy, scrumptious food in the fridge and others make life ever more complicated. 

Friends

Friends are the worst. While other obstacles come in the form of life laughing back at you, your friends are your biggest enemies when you're trying to maintain a diet. Like forcing yourself to ignore all your favourite food is not bad enough, your friends eat junk food and all sorts of fattening tasty delicacies right in front of you to make it even worse. At times, they may tease you until you succumb to the pressure and break your diet. Readers are strictly advised to avoid friends in public restaurants while on a strict diet.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to determination. As long as you fight back against all the obstructions and remain positive for a better, healthier future, you'll get through. 

Tahmeed Chaudhury is bear who hibernates while dreaming of the pot of biriyani he ate before sleeping. Do not disturb his slumber.