Our attitudes about life form our beliefs and responses around food. We eat how we are. We also approach weight loss with specific attitudes that are shaped by our greater attitudes and responses towards life.
For many of us, our attitudes are what are holding us back from achieving the success we have been looking for.
Here are some attitudes that are often roadblocks to success:
The Diva – Life is a banquet and you want to sample it all. Do you feel entitled to eat all you want, when you want? Do you feel food is your just reward to a hard day’s work, a good workout, a celebration, a good mood, or any day or situation that’s not stellar?
Solution: Do you deserve to have a weight problem, heart disease, high cholesterol, or joint problems? There are consequences for your behavior. Are you willing to pay the price? You’re not exempt from them.
Oh Dear Diva! You can have it all -- just not all the time and not in the large amounts you often want. You need to learn moderation in all things. Find other things to reward yourself with besides food.Set realistic limits around food so that you can have your cake and eat it too.
The Dreamer – Do you think if you just hope and wish enough and maybe say some affirmations, do a vision board, or read the right diet book or attend the right workshop your weight will start to magically melt away? Dream on!
Solution: A goal is a dream with a deadline. Begin to set small daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Get it down in writing and begin to make it happen! Action is the key. Affirmations and vision boards are tools, not a cure-all. Please stop talking and dreaming about it and get willing to do something about it. A plan will make it happen!
The Procrastinator – Do you keep telling yourself that one day you will finally get it together, lose the weight, and then your real life will begin? Do you tell yourself that once you lose weight all your other life problems will be solved? Do you keep telling yourself you're going to start that weight loss program but you never quite get around to it? Are you tired of waiting?
Solution: Break down your goal into small, manageable actions. Start now. One day at a time. Soon you’ll be there. Enjoy the process and the journey; stop focusing on the end goal, which may overwhelm you.
Ask: what can I do today? And then do it! Your small, daily actions will lead you to the greater place you want to be.
