What Is Weight Loss Procrastination?

This is a podcast about weight loss procrastination.

Before we dive in, what exactly is procrastination?

Procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something so it’s not just a weight loss issue, it can be anything.

How many of you have said something like this, “Here I am, 4 stone over weight. If only I had done something about this when I was just a stone heavier.”

Obesity over the years has been described as a disorder or a disease of procrastination.

Why do humans often procrastinate and in particular, why do overweight individuals put this off and not fix their weight problem sooner, rather than later.

There is no one easy answer but there are common thinking patters that Maebh points out in this podcast. She opens by (briefly) taking the discussion away from weight loss procrastination and instead focussing on something else that you must have put off doing. For Maebh it was putting off cleaning her attic for the last 18 months. She argues that when we’ve negative connotations associated with the activity we are about to undertake (it’s hard, it’s boring, etc), this in effect acts as a block and causes us to …… procrastinate.

Now apply this negative connotation approach to your own weight loss efforts. If you package the same negative thinking, then you’ll probably think:

it’s going to be hard
I’m going to have to give up things that I enjoy
It’s going to be boring

Now, try and switch it up and think of what’s going to be good about doing it:

If it’s Maebh’s attic:

It’s going to be clean
She’ll be able to see stuff
She’ll have a sense of satisfaction of a job well done
She’ll feel more on top of things
It’s done

With weight loss, it can be any or all of the following:

You’ll have more energy straight away
You’ll start to feel in more control
You’ll feel more youthful
You’ll be able to do more things
You’ll be able to wear nicer clothes

A lot of people procrastinate because they have a fear of failure. They are waiting for circumstances to be just right before they do something.

Jump onto the Weight Loss Procrastination podcast below and listen to Aisling and Maebh as they provide some solid advice on how overcome procrastination and move forward with your weight loss efforts.