One thing that I notice over and over when I first start working with some Weight Loss Clients, is that they have really no idea how much when and what they eat and drink each and every day.
It is quite amazing how much we forget or don’t notice about our own behavior. This is what I believe that happens: When something is happening or going on in our lives that is not going well, then we as humans, tend not to look at it. It is a form of being in denial. People who have troubles managing money, tend not to do their bank statements, people who are struggling with their weight loss tend not to track or pay attention to what they put into their bodies. I chalk this up to it being almost too depressing to deal with and it brings us pain and discomfort if we look at what we are doing. So we just don’t look.
But here is what I do know. No matter how uncomfortable it looks or seems, you need to look. You need to pay attention to every little thing you put into your body, if you want a hope of losing those extra pounds.
So the First Step for Permanent Weight Loss is, a person needs to be aware and pay attention to what they are consuming. This may require a person to have a food journal where they write down every little thing that they eat or drink. Oh now, I can almost hear many of you groaning. Who wants to keep a food journal, right? It’s a pain in the butt and time consuming. Yes, it is time consuming and a pain in the butt, but it brings attention to what you currently are putting into your body.
Let’s imagine you are trying to balance your finances and you are creating a budget. You have your income and then start subtracting off your expenses, so you can figure out how much you can save each month. But you tend to not include your $60 haircuts you get each month, or you forget to subtract your $50 you spend on lotto tickets each week, and neglect to deduct the $2.00 you spend on coffee 4 times per day. How accurate do you think your budget would be? You’d be short on your savings each month, and you would wonder why. This is exactly the same with weight loss. You cannot accurately figure out what you need to alter or change about the current way you eat, if you don’t actually write down every single thing you eat and drink.
Don’t get me wrong, I get why we do it. We don’t want to actually pay attention to what we put into our bodies, because we might feel bad about how many non-nutritious foods we actually consume, or how much we over indulge on certain things, like wine and alcohol. Our subconscious brain likes things to always remain the same. It is easier that way. It doesn’t require any effort. Our brain will convince us to lie and omit things we do, just to keep us doing the same and in our comfort zone. So we don’t worry about a little bit of treats here or a little bit of extra’s there, because it just isn’t that much, it shouldn’t make much of a difference – right? Wrong - it also doesn’t get you to where you want to go.
Pull off the blinders and take a look at your habits. Yes it is going to be uncomfortable. Yes you are going to see things you just don’t want to acknowledge. But is the temporary discomfort and really observing what you do, worth it, if you could actually make progress and lose weight? I believe the short term discomfort is worth it to be healthier and happier.
If you want or need help to get real about what you are consuming, then you may want to consider hiring a Certified Weight Coach to help you.
By Adriana Ellis. Adriana is a Certified Life Coach, Certified Weight Loss Coach. Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach, Certified Food Addictions Coach and Weight Loss Counsellor. Adriana teaches her clients how to change their thinking and habits to help them feel better.
www.attunedwholistic.com
Comments