Make Yourself Get Started

One of the most common things we see with clients who are battling with their weight is procrastination. They want to get started but get lost in birthday parties, anniversaries coming up, holidays and general everyday stress. I am sure we have all been there at some point. But what can you do about it?

The solution is to reduce the pressure and expectations as much as possible. Because if you see a big task or goal in front of you then that causes some kind of pain or resistance inside of you. So you shy away from doing it and rather think about other goals that are easier and make you feel better instead. So here are a few things to think about:

• Your Eating Plan is the foundation of your new lifestyle. You will not spend the rest of your life on it, but it will give you a sound foundation by balancing your body chemistry, so that the extra foods and richer foods introduced in Refeeding do not mess up your hormones.

• Recognise that what seems like a long way to go before Refeeding, really is not when you put it into the context of the number of years you are likely to live. What are a few weeks or months in the scale of your life?

• Remember Dr Cohen’s Program, with its three stages, is designed to equip you for life to eat well, be healthy and avoid future weight gain. To be effective it must be implemented properly. Dr Cohen provides you with the tools to do that. It is a learning experience.

• Think about the Program as a whole as a lifestyle commitment and not a diet. It has strongly positive outcomes, especially with respect to your health, so it is worth a little hard work and commitment to achieve these goals.

• You can set yourself a series of goals, a schedule of steps to your long-term goal, perhaps 5kg steps. Then as soon as you achieve the first goal you have a pre-determined reward for achieving it. Plan this reward carefully, so that you know what it is and can look forward to it. Then you would proceed to the next goal – another 5kg and so on. You would label each goal a 5kg loss and would not cumulate the loss, and this would keep it out of the context of your overall planned loss.

• Just start – commit to 2 days and see how you go. If you do not feel comfortable about it, just commit to 1 day.

When you think of the positives and the future and break things down in to smaller goals, it does not feel big or hard or uncomfortable anymore. It may not feel like fun either, but once you get started and take those first steps, you will almost never just quit. Instead, you will be telling yourself: "Okay, those first few days were not that bad really and I am enjoying how I feel and the change in my body". And so you will continue for a few more days or it just may ignite a small spark of enthusiasm or kick-start a little bit of forward momentum and you will be on your way!

Make the start as easy and light as you can. Be kind to yourself in this way and you will be amazed at how much you can achieve that you have been procrastinating on for quite some time. Today is the day to do it!

Source: Cohen's Lifestyle Clinic