Lifestyle Changes

Here are some important thoughts to examine on a daily basis. Whether you ask them "in your head," or write them on a piece of paper, it's important that you review these things constantly:

1. What is it you really want to accomplish?

2. Is it YOUR goal, or is it someone else's?

3. Is it a realistic goal; is it achievable?

4. Is it just a wish, or is it something you want so badly that nothing will get in your way from achieving it?

5. Is your lifestyle at this moment giving you the desired result you want – the desired goal? If your present behavior is not giving this desired result, what needs to happen?

Some things to think about:

- Increase activities of daily living
- A consistent exercise routine
- Are you willing to change your style of life?
- Do you want be consistent with the changes you make?

This is a most important series of questions. Perhaps in your heart of hearts you truly want to change, but actually DOING IT takes a lot of work and support from YOU, your friends and family. Is it worth it? Are you afraid of success? Are you afraid of failure?

One of the pitfalls of any serious positive lifestyle change is the fear that you may "mess up” what you've done, and fall flat on your face. This "Fear of Failure” can range from normal performance anxiety to an incapacitating fear whereby the prospect of failing becomes so overwhelming, you refuse to even try.

But, remember this: almost everyone has some level of anxiety about failure. Sometimes being overweight is a way of masking the "fear of failure.” It becomes a way to perpetuate a hidden agenda by excusing our lack of success. We can then blame obesity for all of our failures, never having to be fully functional or successful, while protecting our self-worth from the pain of failure.

So, I must remind you that we are here to be your success coaches; we are here to help you when you falter. But you, and you alone, must set your goals and work to keep trying even when you think you aren't doing well. Most people I see worry about their ability to sustain their weight loss, because "It's always come back on before.” This doesn't have to be the case. You will learn to be gentle on yourself, to overcome guilt and to embrace change…in part because you have forced yourself to keep your eye on your goal.

Don't let "fear” prevent you from going forward…whether it is "fear” of not measuring up to YOUR underlying expectations or "fear” that you may not measure up to someone else's standards.

This is your life. It's your agenda. Nothing can hold you back. Set both short-term and long-term goals. Realize that ultimately you will have developed a whole new set of life skills to help you maintain your weight loss. Always be pleased at what you have accomplished so far, and do not be harsh on yourself that you may not be as far along as you might have wanted at this point. A runner has to be able to jog a kilometer before they are able to run a marathon. It takes time!! Lifestyle changes always do.

You can do it! Be patient, and hang in there - don't ever give up, no matter how difficult things get! You DESERVE to feel happy and healthy!

Dr. Doug