Weight loss, or gain, happens depending on the habits we create in our lives. In order to change the results we are getting, we must change who we are being. Committing, or deciding to make a change is not a short term approach.
The Weight Loss Approach that Doesn’t Work…
Losing weight in a few weeks for an event, or to fit in your favorite dress is motivating just until you get there. If you are only committed until you get to that specific day, event or goal, you won’t keep your motivation afterwards.
In college I was invited to be a bridesmaid in a good friend’s wedding. It was 4 months away, and I decided to try to lose 20 pounds to look great in my dress.
I exercised, I dieted, I looked great in the dress, and then I ate everything I could get my hands on at the wedding reception. I kept binge eating the foods I had deprived myself of for weeks afterwards.
Diets like these are like a pendulum. You decide to eat well and exercise, but you have an end date in mind. This was a hard lesson for me to learn. I kept yo yo dieting like this.
Each time I started gaining weight back, I’d give up. I felt so much shame around regaining the weight, and generally felt awful.
This is a story I have lived over and over, and have heard the same from clients. If you struggle with yo yo dieting, you are not alone. Our society promotes diets like thee on TV, in magazines, and we see it with our friends and in our homes. It is not your fault that you have yo yo dieted in the past.
It is your responsibility though to make the changes necessary to stop yo yo dieting and lose your weight for good.
What is a Commitment to Change?
A commitment to change requires consistent action, and motivation deeper than just fitting into a dress or looking good at an upcoming wedding.
I walk my clients through an activity to find their deeper reason, or “why” for wanting to lose weight. A strong why makes it easier to keep pushing towards your goals.
My why for wanting to lose weight is to allow myself to have opportunities I wouldn’t have if I continued gaining weight. I want to be healthy and have energy to act as a role model for my family, future children, and for you ladies.
When I run into obstacles, or find myself craving fast food, I remind myself of what I am working toward.
I use a mantra like “eating that food is not consistent with my goals”, or “change can help me, it’s ok to change my life”.
Why Commitment to Change is Hard
A big obstacle many of us face is self sabotage because we believe we can’t change, or that this is just how life is. I’ll tell you now that these are lies we tell ourselves because change is uncomfortable. Committing to change is committing to be more uncomfortable than if you’d stuck with the status quo.
Many people think it should be easy to change. So when it feels uncomfortable they start to believe it isn’t worth it, or meant for them.
How to Commit to Change
Find a coach you can trust to walk you through the hard parts. I coach my clients on these limiting beliefs a lot. Sometimes it takes having a coach to point out the places you are holding yourself back.
You can make the changes you want to in order to lose your weight. If you aren’t sure where to start, I have a 4-day weight loss habits challenge that I host in a private facebook group. I give you my top 4 strategies and habits to develop to start making progress towards your weight loss goals.
Action Steps
Figure out your “why” or deeper reason for wanting to lose weight.
Watch yourself to see where you are self sabotaging because you are uncomfortable with the change.
Register for the challenge and join the private Facebook group here.