We obese folks are only too
familiar with this scenario- “I’m sick and tired of being fat. I’m going to start a diet on Monday!” Then we binge on wings, chips, chocolate,
cookies and ice cream, the forbidden foods of the coming week. As we binge we sort through the old work-out
videos and find the hardest kick-butt DVDs we can. We set them aside for Monday and go back to
frenzied eating. As we eat the last of
the fried chicken we sit down to create a list of no-nos for the coming few
months. No treats! No sodies!
No carbs! Not until we lose 50
lbs! We go to the grocery store and buy
an armful of magazines with articles about all the latest tricks and tips. We spend hours Googling easy ways to lose
weight. Then back to eating our “last supper”…
Monday comes and we all know the rest of the story. If we do succeed for
awhile it’s only temporary, because our plan was made to last only until a specified point in time
or until a certain weight is
reached or until it is
totally derailed by unrealistic and punishing parameters. The plan wasn’t a plan at all, it was just
another attempt to brutally control our calories, magically become an athlete
overnight and temporarily live a life completely out of our normal realm of
living. Hence- failure.
Success comes from planning before the plan and realizing weight loss
isn’t about food, it’s about how we think about food and our thinking habits. Make a plan before the plan. Here’s how.
First, reflect on why food has
become your rescue buddy and how you use it to cure what ails you. Be specific, so you’ll understand how your
habitual thinking will kick in and lure you into “using.” This may take a few days, a few weeks, maybe
longer. Be acutely aware what’s
happening whenever you eat. Ask yourself
why you’re eating and what the food is doing for you. Are you using it as a companion…as a
mini-vacation…to avoid a deep emotion…as a reward…to celebrate…? Once you see how you use food as a super hero
you can take a deep breath and see the real value in food- to nourish in delicious ways.
Second, fall in love with whole
food. Discover which nourishing foods
you love to eat and free yourself from mediocre foods, foods you’re just
putting up with, and processed foods mostly made in a chemistry lab. Walk down the produce aisle and scope out
which foods really make your mouth water.
Make them the key nutrients in your life. Start eating them, cooking with them and
brewing up tantalizing recipe creations before you even finish putting the
final touches on your weight-loss action plan.
Fall in love before you start the action plan.
Third, realize you won’t ever
need to binge again because you can always eat what you’re in the mood for
whenever you want. And do it. When you do, have a pleasing portion and
savor every delicious bite. You won’t
need to have giant portion after portion after portion because you don’t need
to binge- you can have the same food again as soon as you’re in the mood! When you’re in the mood again ask yourself if
you only want the food because you’re viewing it as a “bad” food that you must
have (and panicking), or if you really do want to taste the exquisite
deliciousness. Back off until another
day if you’re only eating because you’re panicking. Remind yourself- I can eat whatever I want
when I want!
Fourth, create lectures to have
with your habitual thinking, your little ponies as I like to call them, for
when they buck up against your new self-talk and your new views about
food. These ponies represent how you are
accustomed to reacting when driven by specific emotions. Create Firm and positive lectures to lead
each little pony back to the corral through your new neural pathway. Once you’ve trained, you will look into the
corral and the ponies will be nowhere in sight, having run off into the deep
recesses of the gray matter mountains…
Fifth, choose exercise activities
that you love and that fit in your schedule.
If you only have a half an hour a day, choose exercise that exhilarates
you for that half hour. Throw or give
away all the DVD’s you never liked. Shelve the ones that are too advanced for
you. Start at a level where you can
succeed and with a routine that really turns you on!
Sixth, write a plan using a Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy template such as I used.
Once you write the plan think about it for a few days; don’t implement
it at once, mull it over, reflect, make sure you are passionate and happy with your
plan (the template I used is found in my first post: The Kick-off Post
and- it can be used for any life change.).
Have an emotional investment in your
plan. Each piece had better excite
you. If not, keep creating.
Sixth, change your thinking. Write a self-talk script that includes your
new view of food, exercise and weight-loss (see my post: Writing a New Script
for Your Inner Voice). Write it with a
positive slant and an attitude of gratitude.
Load that baby with sincere passion! Adopt it, take it to heart, read it
until you have it loosely memorized.
Repeat it morning, noon and night. This is the way you will build new
neural pathways in your brain and change deeply entrenched habitual thinking
about how horribly hard weight loss is, how depriving a change in diet can be,
and how you won’t be an optimum person until you are thin!
Seventh, implement your plan with
joy and excitement! This is your plan, personal and
specific. It isn’t a diet! It’s a plan for optimum health and it’s all
yours! Embrace it and feel the love, baby.
Eighth, remember your plan is a
living and breathing thing. Make changes
as you come across ideas for improvement. Recalibrate as you see fit.
Ninth, include only positive
people in your support group. Spend
minimal time with anyone who’s going to talk about “dieting,” “calories,"
“diet foods” and the “how-tos” of it all.
After all, this is your habit changing plan of excellence, your
creation, your baby- not some DIET!
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