Okay, so why can’t weight loss be fun?
I’m serious. We tend to make it drudgery and load it with all sorts of messages. It’s that moment of recognition when the waistband gets tight or the scale is going in the wrong direction. What do we say to ourselves?
It’s seldom good, certainly not affirming but more likely to be defeating, derogatory to ourselves, and rather miserable.
Why do we do that? Doesn’t that make the experience worse?
We tend to sabotage ourselves not just with detours from our chosen nutrition plan but also in mindset. The industry packages the message to appeal to hope and the joy of good health, but what do you think when you hear the word “Diet”?
Yeah, me, too. We have this set belief that following a nutrition plan is going to be incredibly painful in many ways – and that’s what we unconsciously look for amidst the experience. It’s that same system that activates our awareness when we’ve just bought a new car, and suddenly we start seeing the same car and color everywhere, and we hadn’t noticed before. So rather than seeing the new things on the menu plan, we see the same boring things we equate with diet. We anticipate the hunger pains, the deprivation, the sore muscles from over-exercise. We “hope” for the result, but there’s so much drudgery in between, and since we’ve failed so many times already —
We hold onto that belief and fall right down that rabbit hole rather than challenge it. But what if we did challenge it?
What if we looked at nutrition plans as a tool? We don’t think of taking medication as deprivation, even though it can be expensive. We look at it as a tool to help us heal. We may not be fussed on dusting and vacuuming, but they’re tools to clean our homes. Some of you mothers may find creative ways to get your children to “gamify” cleaning up their rooms. We use these tools to accomplish a goal, yet when we link it to food, we call it deprivation – and it’s sabotaging our efforts.
What if we looked at the nutrition plan to find where we can utilize some of our favorite foods or healthier versions of them? What if we discover new foods we didn’t know we liked? What if you discovered the nutrition plan that fits your body doesn’t feel like a “diet” at all and makes you feel better than you have in years?
Shifting our beliefs even just a little can make a tremendous difference. It’s the “whistle while you work” principle that makes the task easier. How will you choose to make weight loss more fun?
If you want some ideas, email me: [email protected]
