Reality Checks

In the course of my own journey, I’ve gotten the opportunity to observe a lot of people working on weight loss. Some have been very successful, while others fizzle out in a matter of minutes, it seems. I notice some behaviors and traits that frequently seem to precede impending doom for weight loss! Here’s a quick rundown of how to defeat yourself as you’re trying to lose weight, in my not-so-humble opinion…

People get weird sometimes going on about how they DESERVE to lose weight but it hasn’t happened. It almost seems like they’re completelhy hacked off sometimes.

As in: "Hey, I only ate 3 lettuce leaves and some chicken broth but I gained half a pound yesterday! Whyyyyyyy?"

Um…what do you say to that? How do people get THAT hyper, anyway?

If you’re here, there’s a good chance you’re looking to lose a couple pounds. Or more. And that being the case, there’s also a very high likelihood this isn’t your first trip around the weight-control block. (That sounds weird, huh? “Weight-control block.” Har!) But back to the point. We lose, we gain; we lose, we gain. It’s a yo-yo cycle for many.

I don't mean to be flip...well, ok, maybe I do. I'll cop. But that's the million dollar question, ‘eh? Maybe it's the billion dollar question, what with the diet industry being what it is. How do we get to be fatbutts, and what does one do about it?

And don't even start babbling to the Goddess about calories! You're liable to get slapped where you stand. I get flat-out angry when I hear the old calories-in-versus-calories-out-routine:

"I feel great, but I can't get my husband/ kid/ parent/ sibling/ [insert-person-you-love-here] to make the healthy changes I'm making, even though they really need to. It's vital! Their health is at stake! Why can't they understand, and how can I make them understand how important this is?"

How can you get someone else to see the light, anyway?

A common dieter's disease that you see running rampant: Scale-itis. As in: How can I lose 2 kajillion pounds in three minutes? Or something along those lines.

Now I get this. I so get it. But if you stop for a second and think about where it comes from, it may change your perspective a bit.

See, it's like this: You've seen people who have EVERY SINGLE indication of being successful at losing weight, short having the scale read what they want, and what happens? Blind panic, right?

I caved. I ate that brownie. I couldn't resist." These are not my confessions. Sometimes, this is what I hear people say when they're trying to lose weight. Be it brownies or fries or whatver. But one thing that does far more damage than the eating: the attitude!

I watch people. In particular, I watch folks with weight issues deal with them. And you can see certain attitudes, opinions, and "self-stories" that seem to have a pretty strong correlation with failure rates. Now, I'm not saying I don't think you can overcome dysfunctional attitudes. You certainly can!

Answer this question as True or False for yourself: "After I lose all this yucky extra weight, I'll feel better about myself."

“The words ‘I am…’ are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to. The thing you’re claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you.” -A. L. Kitselman

This is quite true, you know. You decide who you are by…well, by deciding who you are. You know?