Are you struggling to get back on track with healthy eating, weight loss & exercise? Do you remember a time when you felt you were successful at either or both and think that if you could just flip that switch again, you could do it?
Flipping that switch…that was that feeling like you were unstoppable like nothing could sway you from your goal. It seemed to happen all of a sudden and then after a period of time, it flipped back and you were out of control again.
My dad spent 30 years waiting for the switch to flip that would stop him from smoking. It had happened once and he couldn’t believe how strong and how much willpower he had. How could he get back there? Unfortunately, he never did until a long hospital stay from cancer surgery gave him no choice.
So we wait. Make a plan during a binge weekend that we will start again on Monday (why is it always Mondays?) and this time it will work.
Weight loss
I have yo-yo dieted enough to know that diets don’t work…well, let me take that back, they all worked. Until I went back to my regular eating habits and regained the weight with a little more poundage for good measure.
I think that my problem has always been planning weight loss for some event. A wedding, birthday, school reunion, I never saw this new eating plan as a way of life. So once the event passed, up went the weight.
The worst part is the hours, months and years I have wasted worrying and focusing on healthy eating and exercise only to be no better off than if I had not concerned myself at all.
So what’s the solution?
I believe it is different for everyone but how about we start with forgiving ourselves for not being as fit as we and everyone around us think we should be? Just know that you have done the best you could with the tools you were given and move on. No more self-loathing, self-beating or destructive self-talk. We’ve done so much to make this work so now let’s try something different.
Let’s ponder what we think our body needs. Not what the magazines or a new diet guru tells you it needs. You know exactly what to do to be healthier and live longer and be more active. You have been inundated with nutrition news and facts your entire life, heck, you could probably get a degree in it by now.
Look at the foods you like and start altering them to make them healthier. Jon Gabriel of the Gabriel Method suggests adding in good choices such as more salads and vegetables and if you want pizza, cut it up into small pieces and stick it onto a salad with dressing you love. Add, instead of depriving. I mean really, haven’t we all done enough of that? It’s like living in a constant state of punishment.
We over-eat for so many reasons and feeling unsafe is a common issue. We literally build a wall between us and the rest of the world. Getting to the bottom of why you focus on food is a big help and working with a professional on this, such as a hypnotherapist can make your changes long-lasting.
And exercise?
I doubt you hate it more than I do. But I do like games and walking around the city and when I feel like it, treading water in the pool is kind of fun. I don’t even think about going to the gym. It’s not my thing and I’m not going to feel bad about that. I do whatever I can, baby steps, as much as I can and sometimes I can hardly do anything but that’s okay too. I am only working towards doing more of what I do like, that gets me moving. Take some time to think about it, what could you stand to do?… and just do that.
If you are the type of person that likes to work with someone, Dr. Gidon Frame, helps his Anti-Aging patients privately with these issues with great success as it’s all about health and improving your quality of life. Whether you prefer to go it alone, or with a knowledgeable cheerleader, you can start loving your body today. Above all, be patient with yourself and with the process. It took you many years to get here so give yourself time making small positive health changes and let your body know it doesn’t need to hold onto this weight any longer…you got this!
Give your body what you know it needs to be strong and live long and whatever you do, don’t just wait around for that switch to flip, you can turn it on anytime you want.
