Committed to Losing Weight or Just Interested?

FP4HSharon

Great motivational article...I'd say I'm committed, most of the time. What about you?

http://weightloss-forlife.com/ezine-11214_422.html

The Wt. Loss Minute
By Linda Spangle, RN, MA
February 14, 2011

I'm trying so hard! (Motivation Series)

Becky looked discouraged. As she sank into the chair in my
office, she said, 'I don't know what to do. I'm trying so hard to
lose weight, but I'm not getting anywhere. I can't figure out
what's wrong. Based on how hard I'm trying I should be losing a
lot more than I am.'

As I looked at my notes on our conversations over the past few
weeks, I decided to take a guess at Becky's problem. 'Let's
review a little,' I said. 'How have you been doing with your
eating plan?'

Becky thought for a second. 'Some days are OK, but lots of times
I get stressed or frustrated during the day, and by evening, I
end up having wine or ice cream, or both.'

'So you're not following your plan very well?' I asked. 'I guess
not,' she replied. 'This past week I probably was on my program
only three days. But I'm trying so hard to lose weight!'

'How's your exercise plan going?'

'Not as consistent as I'd like. I only walked two days this week.
By the end of the day, I'm usually so tired that I can't get
myself to do it. But I'm trying so hard to lose weight!'

I glanced back at my notes. 'You also planned to work on your
abdominal exercises, go to a yoga class, and take time each day
for some meditation or reading. How are you doing with those
goals?'

'None of them happened. I'm just so busy, and everything gets in
the way. The days keep getting away from me, and I end up
skipping all of my goals and going to bed.'

But then Becky exclaimed again, 'But, I'm trying so hard to lose
weight!'

Are you seeing yourself in this story? I think we all have times
when we WANT to lose weight, and we convince ourselves that we're
TRYING. But like Becky, we don't follow through with any actions
that would move us toward our goals.

It's like saying you want an 'A' in a class at school, but being
too busy, too tired or too stressed to open the textbook or work
on your research paper. No action equals no outcome.

Interested or committed?

Many of you are familiar with this next concept from Day 2 of the
book '100 Days of Weight Loss' but I think it's one we all need
to be reminded of now and then.

If you tend to start and stop every time you diet, you may want
to look at the difference between being INTERESTED and being
COMMITTED.

Interest slips away quickly

When you're just interested in dieting, you tend to stay with
your plans only until something better comes along. For example,
you may decide that you're interested in losing weight, but when
someone brings doughnuts to work, you quickly go off your diet.

You also depend on seeing results to keep you on target. So, as
long as the scale keeps moving, you stay motivated. But if you
hit a plateau or you don't see much progress for a few weeks, you
may throw your program out the window.

And when you struggle, you blame everyone but yourself. You
accuse your friends of ruining your diet because they eat potato
chips in front of you.

In addition, you fall into 'if only' thinking, saying things
like, 'If only I had more time, more money, a new job, or a
supportive spouse, then I'd be able to stay on my plan.

Committed means NO MATTER WHAT!

When you're truly committed to achieving your goals, you have an
entirely different outlook. Unlike being interested, where it
doesn't take much to detract you from your goals, being committed
means you stick with it, no matter what.

Rather than depending on seeing results to help you stay on
track, you work on keeping your motivation strong, and trust that
results will follow.

And when you struggle, you don't blame circumstances or other
people. Instead, you push hard to stay on your diet in spite of
not having enough money, time, or supportive friends and family
members.

Here's a summary of the differences between interested and
committed:

People who are interested in losing weight

* Stick with it until something better comes along
* Take action only if they "feel like" doing it
* Need to see results in order to stay motivated
* Blame people or circumstances for their struggles
* Easily give up when they face challenges

People who are committed to losing weight

* Stick with their plans no matter what
* Take action whether they feel like doing it or not
* Assume that if they stay motivated, results will follow
* Take responsibility for their own actions
* Keep going in spite of challenges and setbacks

Look carefully at your current efforts. If you say that you're
'trying so hard to lose weight' but you aren't making progress,
you're probably taking the interested approach. If so, strive for
being committed instead. Start adopting a 'no matter what'
attitude, then convince yourself you can stay with your goals
regardless of your daily challenges.

KeithChanning

Superbly put. Couldn't agree more.