KAWARTHA LAKES-Weight loss experts and those who have lost a significant amount of weight will tell you that losing weight is more than just a change in diet and an increase in daily activity. Happiness, quality of life, and full filled living has a lot to do with what is reflected on the scale.
There is no question that you need willpower and mental fortitude to make and sustain the necessary changes for long term, sustainable, weight loss.
However, you also need a strong, healthy and consistent emotional state.
Losing weight is inherently emotional and deeply personal, and it is imperative that you do not sabotage your goals. Certain things simply will not help, such as harboring guilt about not looking a certain way or striving to lose a certain amount according to a timeline. Setting unrealistic goals and comparing yourself to photo shopped images is also detrimental to your weight loss journey. This can lead to self-sabotage, giving up too soon, or yo-yo dieting.
Here are some things to consider before embarking on (yet another) crash diet:
Keep in mind that you are your own harshest critic.
You can control how you see your body, and it is important to see your body as unique in its needs and in its definition of healthy and beautiful. Diet plans and specific exercise plans are not meant to embrace your own unique body, and if we cannot accept our bodies for the shapes they are and the strengths they possess, even the best diet plans will never work. Every long term weight loss journey begins with self-love and self-acceptance.
The desire to lose weight should not be superficial
Find a reason beyond how you look to keep you focused and grounded on your goals. Do you want more energy? Do you want to manage your diabetes? Do you want to run a marathon? There is no wrong reason, but that reason should be something bigger than wanting to look like a model. Is it so you can play with your kids? So you can love your partner more or enjoy your life more? Is it so you can be more active, or so you can finally toss out some emotional baggage? Whatever the reason, make that your goal, rather than just weight loss, and watch the weight loss come as a side effect.
Uncomfortable Emotions can often make us seek comfort and distraction in food.
We are emotional beings and life has ups and downs. We need to accept that it is okay to be uncomfortable at times; everything is temporary. Our fear should lead us to take positive actions rather than into panic mode. A popular adage is that every crisis that comes in our lives tends to have a hidden opportunity. That opportunity can lead to growth and experience that could change our life. Whatever your current situation is, see if you can take a few moments out of each day to reflect and relax, rather than going-through-the-motions and avoiding.
It is also important to seek positive support and advice. Having support strengthens our willpower and provides a positive energy towards our goals.
Brainstorm with friends, a doctor, or a health professional, or ask about the experience of other people, so that you know what to expect, and how to handle setbacks. Significant changes in lifestyle need as much encouragement and confidence as possible in order to be sustainable. Having a plan long-term goes a long way in staying consistent. Having a support system takes you even further.
We tend to think that weight loss will fix the anxieties and problems we face in life; in many cases, those problems will still be there even after the weight is gone. If it is happiness and peace that you are looking for, you won’t necessarily find it in a smaller body. Learn to tie your happiness to factors that mean more to your life than just weight. Then those changes you make in your body will be permanent, healthy results of a happy life. For more information on online health coaching programs, please visit:www.sweathappywellness.com
Becky Sheehey is a Holistic Health Coach, and a Pilates and Movement Expert with a background in Kinesiology. She lives in Lindsay.
