If you are telling
yourself you will never lose weight or that it is too hard, or that you have no
self control and you accept these thoughts, you will only sabotage your efforts
to manage your weight. What you tell
yourself can make you feel stressed, anxious, worried, depressed and more apt
to binge or overeat. You need to change
your thinking!!
Recognise that there will
be events which you will not have control over.
Suppose you have had a good week you have been motivated and eaten
according to your plan but the scales say otherwise. Getting mad at yourself would be a mistake,
since other factors may be responsible such as water retention or if you are
exercising additional muscle (remember muscle weighs more than fat). Be realistic about what you can control &
what you can’t, pay attention to how good you feel, or how loose your clothes
are. These are the hallmarks of real
progress.
Your thoughts powerfully
program you. Realistically assess what
you can control and what you can’t and take action to make a difference in your
life. You may find it hard to see yourself being able to enjoy a party, go on a
vacation, eat what other people are eating.
You then start feeling sorry for yourself. You start saying “It’s not fair other people
can eat what they like”, “I hate depriving myself”, “I shouldn’t have to work
this hard”, “I can’t go to any parties”.
This type of thinking is highly destructive.
Feeling sorry for
yourself you start eating to make yourself feel better. What you fail to realise is you can still go
to parties, you can still go on vacation and you can still do what you want.
You need to focus on the scenery, the activities, the “battery recharge”,
rather than focussing on food. Think
about deprivation in another way: by overeating, you’re depriving yourself of a
healthy weight, an attractive appearance, self-regard and peace of mind.
You are creating the
situations you are in and you are creating the thoughts and emotions that flow
from these situations. You must embrace
the fact that you own your own problems and take action to solve them.
Does this sound
familiar?? “I can’t help bingeing when
I’m alone”. Is this really true? Is there nothing else, nothing at all that
you can do when you are alone? Isn’t
there some activity or something that doesn’t involve food that you could
rather do?
Is your goal to achieve
permanent weight loss, and experience the physical and emotional health that
stems from it? If you want to look and
feel better how does repeating “This won’t work” or “It’s too hard”, help you
achieve your goal? Tell yourself “I’m
not powerless over my behaviour. I’m in
charge of myself. I have to choose
what’s more important: reactive overeating or taking care of my health. It’s my choice, and I can do something about
it! You can only control what happens now.
You have no control over what has happened in the past.
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Self-Defeating Thinking
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Right Thinking
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My family/friends are conspiring to keep me fat, so
I can’t lose weight
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Losing weight is within my control
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I didn’t lose weight this week - I must have messed
up
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I may be retaining fluid. My body is adjusting to the positive
changes I’ve made so far
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I’m so overwhelmed - I can’t do it
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As long as I continue working on my weight, I’ll
achieve the goals I have set for myself
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I will not succeed
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No matter what happens, I’ll stay on course. If I do what is required, I will succeed
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I’ve gained a kilogram, and it’s terrible
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I’ll review my week and see where I can
improve. After all, since starting
this program I’ve lost ____kilograms
|
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I’m going to lose 2 kilograms this week
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I’ll stick to my Eating Plan a day at a time. Whatever I lose will be a positive
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I feel fat, so I must look fat
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There’s no evidence for this. I am looking better than ever
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I can’t have fun anymore
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Not true. The
fitter I get, the more fun I have, and the more activities I can participate
in. Life is more fun than ever
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Make up sticky reminder notes for yourself and place
them around the house -
Where to place them Front
door
Fridge
Computer
Diary
or Organiser
Purse
or Wallet
Next
to your bed
Bathroom
mirror
On your TV
Write on them Losing weight is within
my control!
I will achieve the goals
I have set for myself!
No matter what happens I
will stay on course!
If I do what is required
I will succeed!
Quitting will get me
nowhere!
Take control!
I am in control!
I’ll stick to my program,
a day at a time!
Whatever I lose will be a
positive!
Remember
- You can’t control everything all the
time so control what you can control, accept what you can’t and be wise enough
to know the difference!
Source: Cohen's Weight Loss Clinic
