"I Just Want to Lose Weight!"
If we all could get a nickel for every time we’ve heard
the expression “I just want to lose weight,” we'd be pretty close to being
millionaires!
I think most of us would like to be at our "ideal" body weight, or at least close to it. But, how far are we willing to go to get there? What is going to motivate us to stick to it if we slip? Is the goal of "losing weight" a good objective? I don’t think it is. I think a plan "to lose" weight is a losing plan.
When we set our primary goal to be “to lose weight,” we're setting ourselves up "to lose." We go on fad diets and engage in extreme work-outs with the objective "to lose" weight. What does this do to the psyche when we enter into these temporary measures "to lose?" So, what happens if we lose the weight? Do we stay on the fad diet? Do we keep doing the extreme work-out? Or, what if our objective "to lose" fails? Do we say “Forget about the diet and the exercise?” I believe there is a better way.
Why don’t we switch gears just a bit and set our primary goal to be "I want to live a healthier lifestyle." Imagine if, in setting that goal, we decided to incorporate a healthy, well-balanced diet of smaller, more frequent meals. Imagine if we decided to incorporate regular exercise that didn't involve herculean effort. What would happen if we "Just Do It?" I think we’d meet our goal!
Once we start to live healthier lives, we’ll start to feel better and have more energy. We’ll also enjoy the probable by-products of weight loss and the control of chronic medical conditions. Since we see these positive reinforcements, we’re more apt to jump back on the “healthy lifestyle wagon” when we fall off. It continues to motivate us.
So, what do you want to do? Do you want to plan "to lose?" If not, check out the many options at Nova that can help set you on your path towards a healthy lifestyle.
-Posted by Damion Hardison, MD
I think most of us would like to be at our "ideal" body weight, or at least close to it. But, how far are we willing to go to get there? What is going to motivate us to stick to it if we slip? Is the goal of "losing weight" a good objective? I don’t think it is. I think a plan "to lose" weight is a losing plan.
When we set our primary goal to be “to lose weight,” we're setting ourselves up "to lose." We go on fad diets and engage in extreme work-outs with the objective "to lose" weight. What does this do to the psyche when we enter into these temporary measures "to lose?" So, what happens if we lose the weight? Do we stay on the fad diet? Do we keep doing the extreme work-out? Or, what if our objective "to lose" fails? Do we say “Forget about the diet and the exercise?” I believe there is a better way.
Why don’t we switch gears just a bit and set our primary goal to be "I want to live a healthier lifestyle." Imagine if, in setting that goal, we decided to incorporate a healthy, well-balanced diet of smaller, more frequent meals. Imagine if we decided to incorporate regular exercise that didn't involve herculean effort. What would happen if we "Just Do It?" I think we’d meet our goal!
Once we start to live healthier lives, we’ll start to feel better and have more energy. We’ll also enjoy the probable by-products of weight loss and the control of chronic medical conditions. Since we see these positive reinforcements, we’re more apt to jump back on the “healthy lifestyle wagon” when we fall off. It continues to motivate us.
So, what do you want to do? Do you want to plan "to lose?" If not, check out the many options at Nova that can help set you on your path towards a healthy lifestyle.
-Posted by Damion Hardison, MD
posted by MAR at
11:51 AM
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