We want guaranteed success.
Mostly because we’ve tried so many things with varying degrees of success — and not just with the category of diet, health, and fitness, right? We want what we buy to work as we expect. With our weight loss efforts, perhaps we’ve been burned in the past with poor customer service or an ineffective product. For me, it was less about the product and more about my inability to follow through with commitment. Am I alone?
That commitment lapse is so frustrating. “I really thought I could do it this time!” turns to vociferous blame on ourselves. “I’m such a failure.” “I can’t stick to anything.” We may not quite get to doom, but it’s certainly gloomy in our heads sometimes.
No wonder we want a guarantee – or at least some true hope. Yet our question isn’t really about the program’s effectiveness. Our real question is: “Can your program a) get me to do this and b) get me to stick with it even after the program ends?”
Take a deep breath.
The hard answer is: Only if you want it to. The magic bullet in weight loss isn’t the program, potion, or pill. It’s the power of your intention – and how you manage or get free of the self-sabotage that has plagued your efforts.
How do we do that?
Recognize what drives you to food for comfort or stress relief. It may be one thing or several things, but identify a couple at a time. Change of any kind brings its own stress, so don’t fall into the self-sabotage trap of attacking every saboteur at once.
Once you’ve identified them, think through different ways to respond to those specific triggers. We have to create a different response if we want a different result. What are your options? More importantly, what will you actually do? It’s all well and good to say you’ll text a friend, go for a walk, or get a manicure, but if you will not do them in the moment, it’s not helpful. Create a list of options you’ll actually do.
I know. You’ve tried it before. Or you have doubts about the effectiveness. Or you don’t think you’ll follow through. But what if you did? What if you chose to give it another shot and actually followed through? What if it DID work? Are you willing to find out?
If you need a little help with identifying and disarming some of your triggers, don’t hesitate to contact me.
