One of the many things I have come to understand about humans through this weight loss journey is how different we can be from moment to moment and day to day. As I have taken time to access my thoughts and feelings I see more and more how different they are. For example, one day exercise can seem almost unbearable and times seems to stand still. Other days, time flies and I can't understand what all the fuss is - it isn't that big of deal.
What I find really interesting is how I or the world has decided which one of these "feelings" are acceptable and which ones are not. When I have a day that exercise is hard to get through or cravings are knocking at every door in the house, I feel like I have failed - regardless of whether I succeeded that day or not. I have found that one of the biggest challenges has been to redefine these days or to just let them go and not let them hinder my progression.
I would venture to say that maybe one inkling of our obesity crisis comes from our own thinking - our own definition of life from day to day. We have more opportunities than ever before to have life nice and organized and "looking" perfect. We can get things quicker and easier than ever before and there is more available than ever before. It should be easy to lose weight. There are hundreds of ready-made meals with 100 calorie packets for dessert but what gets in the way? Our emotions. One little hint of failure and it makes it so much easier to fail big. Think of the last time you gave in to a binge. What was your mental state like? What about a day when you ate well? Wasn't your mindset completely different, maybe definitions like powerful, strong, positive and determined would have been accurate.
The least effective way to lose weight is to willpower your way through it. Like I said, everyday takes on it's own characteristics. In true lifestyle change you wake up and define the day before you get going. You never let the day just happen. This is hard work and can be scary to some. It can go against everything you have experienced in your life so far. If you take the time, in whatever way you need, to pull in feelings of strength, power, etc, you will succeed and it will get easier and easier. There will always be times that are more difficult than others and that is when you say "this is one of those times that are more difficult" and that is it, you have defined it. You work through those days the best you can but never let that dreaded "F" word (failure) enter your mind. You are going through a hard time and that is it. It doesn't define the rest of your life's choices. Keep that mind in the right place and you will do this!
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