I have a dear friend that has battled with weight most of her adult life. Whether it’s you or someone close to you, there is no greater pain that having someone you care about struggle with something, be it weight, relationships, etc.
The other day we went out for lunch and she told me about something her father had recently shared with her and it really hit home for her. Remember that we don’t hear something until we are really ready to HEAR something. And sometimes simply changing the way it’s said, or how it’s said, may be all that’s needed to finally connect to a message. So here is how her father viewed his daughter’s weight loss struggles and how she might better move forward with her weight loss efforts. “When you go out too fast in the swim portion of the triathlon, you end up over doing it and get out of breath and you never really recover. The ideal approach, is to start off slow until you find your groove and then you are strong for not only the swim, but for the entire event.”
I couldn’t think of a better metaphor for the whole weight loss approach. Every client that I have worked with that has failed weight loss efforts is because it’s always, and I mean always, too much, too soon leaving little room for success. To throw a dramatic shift in to an already chaotic lifestyle does little to set the stage for long-term success. Let’s use the Biggest Loser as an example. They have a dramatic shift, their lifestyle completely changes, yet they have learned little in the way of real life application. How can you go from exercising 8 hours a day, having meals prepared for you to working a 9-5 job, driving the kids to their school activities and having to figure out what’s for dinner and either making it or picking it up, right? It’s unrealistic and highly unsustainable.
So just as my friends Dad suggests, “start off slow until you find your groove…” it may not be the quick and easy results you want, but the truth is there are no real results in fast and easy, only temporary success and well, if it’s temporary, it’s really not a success.
Here’s to Your Health!
4 responses to “A Different Way to Look at Weight Loss”
I think that it goes along with the fact that it should always be about health, much more than it should be about weight. We really should not “diet” but we should be eating right and making healthier choices. Be happy with slow steady progress since it is much easier to maintain. Many things you eat on a regular basis can be adapted in ways to make them healthier and still tasty!
With exercise, you do need to find things you enjoy, or at least don’t mind doing, and vary it somewhat too so you don’t get bored. For me it is biking and watching old TV episodes (Dr. Who, Quantum Leap, Early Edition, Dick Van Dyke show) on Netflix while on the treadmill .Right now I look forward to Saturdays, when my husband and I climb in the car, drive to a new forest preserve, and explore the area looking for GeoCaches. (www.geocaching.com) It satisfies my need for some exercise and activity, our enjoyment of nature, and his love of technology at the same time. It has taken us to some parks that we never knew existed, and to some we knew but had never explored. And then there is always the competition of who will find the cache first. It has been a great way to reconnect as newer empty nesters too!
It is important that all of this fits into your life in a way that becomes more natural. It’s kind of the like the tortoise and the hare: slow and steady wins the race.
I think if we focus too much on the speed of weight loss, we’re missing the main point. You don’t dive in and swim as fast as you can not because going fast is bad, but because it’s not sustainable. I agree, this is a great metaphor for weight loss! In weight loss, we should be less concerned with the speed (or slowness) of our weight loss, and more concerned that we’re making choices that are going to be sustainable for the rest of our healthy lives.
This makes so much sense, Nicki. Too bad it runs counter to everything that society pushes for – go out fast, the winner is the one who gets there first, slow and steady is boring, and on and on. Yet what matters most is to make changes in lifestyle (diet, exercise, overall health) that you can stick with forever, not just for the next week, or month. Or if you are really disciplined, maybe for the next year.
You are all so right. I keep hoping that by staying true to my message and what I believe (it should always be about health first) that things may begin to change. I think once people realize that the lines of Hollywood and real life have become blurred, they may see that it’s just not normal for everyone to be stick thin and blond and blue eyed. We are a culture that pushes perfection, that I’m sure of. However, there has to be a breaking point or a time when people simply tire of the unnecessary pressure to be something that they’re not genetically designed to be, it’s exhausting. So I will continue to push what isn’t sexy or glamorous in hopes that all of us together, can slowly start turning the tide. Only then, can we hope for a really healthy country!