‘Why am I scared of losing weight?’
‘Why didn’t I do something about my weight years ago?’
‘No point in doing it now, I don’t have it in me to lose all this weight’.
Sound familiar?
Procrastination is the process where we overthink things to the point of not doing anything about them. We think of every reason why we shouldn’t do something, rather than every reason why we can do it. Everyone is different and our thoughts make us unique, however there are common thinking patterns which make weight management feel impossible.
Below you will find 5 of the most common reasons why you may give up on your goals.
1. Unrealistic Expectations
People who procrastinate may not have a realistic view of what success is. They think that it was easy for their friend to lose weight. They assume that friend was stronger than them, or had more time to do it.
The truth is, to be successful it is important to overcome frustrations and keep focused on the long-term goal.
You may have bumps in the road; it’s impossible to make changes without them, but never give up on what’s meaningful to you.
2. Fear of Failure
Many people fear failure and will base their self-esteem and self-image on their accomplishments. It may be too daunting to try, so rather than risk failure, they might do nothing at all. This is a huge and all too common roadblock to weight control. To combat this aim to focus only on the positive steps you’re making towards getting healthy. For instance, if you didn’t give in to a craving or if you drank more water.
Celebrate the positive and learn from the negative.
3. Perfectionism
Many of us have an idea of how certain things need to be carried out. This type of thinking can be very rigid and can in fact stop us from getting results. Regarding weight loss, expectation can be to lose a certain amount of weight every single week without exception.
Life does not work like that and our bodies are not robots. Some people with this all or nothing attitude may abandon all their good intentions if they do not see the result they aimed for.
4. Negative Self-Talk
Try to avoid statements like, “I should lose weight or I should get started on my diet”, as these types of statements usually don’t work. In fact, they often make you feel resentful, guilty and prevent you from getting started with your weight control plan.
Change your new self-talk to a more positive approach such as: “I choose to be slim, happy, and healthy. I know that what I weigh and how I feel is entirely up to me”.
5. Lack of Motivation
In life, our motivation goes up and down. You will have days or even weeks where you are not as focused, and learning not to panic when that happens is vital. Understanding that will help you to remain calm and provide useful insight into why your motivation may have taken a dip. When you are feeling less motivated, start thinking about why you wanted to get your weight down.
Begin the process by writing down a list of all the benefits you’ll enjoy by losing weight, and visualise yourself feeling and looking fantastic. Your motivation can return if you don’t give up on it.
Having read through the above 5 reasons you’ll probably identify with more than one.
Now ask yourself, ‘why am I scared of losing weight?’
Also ask yourself, ‘what do you have to gain from staying the same?’
One of the core pillars of our weight management service is compassion. We know it’s not easy and we provide the supports required in an environment that is guilt-free and full of positive encouragement.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this Chinese proverb:
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is now.
Book your private, one-to-one initial assessment today.
