Keeping Morale Up

Answer 1

When it comes to losing weight there is a lot of good to be had, both socially and for your health. For most of us that is not enough to make the scale move. After all we know that we should not talk on the phone while driving, we may even get mad at other drivers who do it, but when an important call comes in we are at least tempted. The same thing happens with weight loss. We know what we have to do, you may even advise others, it simply seems like doing it is harder than saying it. That simple fact can make you feel bad. It can make you angry and cynical, and it can make you feel like giving up on your goals. After all if you’re not getting there, and you’re not getting there in a timely manner, it can be easy to see that 450 calorie slice of chocolate silk pie as a reasonable indulgence. After all if you’re not going to make progress why not get some joy out of your life? Those thoughts all seem so natural, but they are wrong and counterproductive. If you want to make progress you are going to have to make changes to your life, and that means keeping your morale up. I know, believe me I do, that it is hard to that when you’re not seeing the results. You want to give up, go back into old habits and just stop having to feel bad about all of this. We have all had those moments in life. When they happen, what separates the people who lose those extra pounds from the ones that do not? Point of view, a fact that is both good and bad. It is good because it is free and requires no special equipment. It is bad because changing your own internal dialogue, and basically retraining your brain is hard to do. Let’s talk strategy. One of the simplest ways to change things is to reframe your thoughts. Yes, this does require conscious awareness of your thoughts, but it can be done quite easily. Let’s take that pie example above. You could respond to that thought in any number of ways. Some examples include: “If I eat the pie I’ll feel good now, but bad later on. It’s not worth being upset when I get on the scale.” “Pie can’t make me happy, which is what I really want. Instead I’ll get my endorphin rush from (pick something you like to do and insert it here).” I know that it sounds a little bit hokey at first. To be honest those first few times this won’t work by itself. You are still going to have to remove the temptation and distract yourself. This is about playing the long game; you are trying to redefine your relationship with food and with yourself. If you keep saying these things over and over you will begin to believe them, and your efforts will feel less like a Herculean labor.