The other day whilst at the gym I attend, two ladies were discussing the results of their monthly weighing and measuring session. One of them was so demotivated by the results that she was expressing her feelings about giving up. On enquiring about why she felt so bad, I was not surprised to hear that she had actually lost a fair amount of weight and inches. Yet it had not motivated her, quite the reverse in fact.
So what is it about weighing and measuring ourselves that can, for some of us, be so destructive and demotivating? As one of the people for whom weighing sessions are negative experiences, I sat down to analyse it and this is what I discovered...
1. It is often a competitive process that creates, in our own minds, winners and losers, even between those who have lost weight.
This is destructive if you are highly competitive with others.
2. We set ourselves personal goals that may not be achieved, no matter how hard we are trying.
This is destructive because the body does not lose weight in a regular pattern. There are many issues such as our menstrual cycle and water retention that also affect our weight.
3. We may even count down the days to our weighing sessions.
This can be destructive as we concentrate our attention on a future point in time, missing the joy and happiness in the moment.
4. When other people lose more weight or inches than us, we easily hook into our 'Not Good Enough' feelings and beliefs.
This is destructive because as soon as this false belief gets its hold on us, the stress it creates only leads us back into our comfort eating.
5. We can spend our time attached too strongly to our own desired outcome and time schedule for this.
This is therefore destructive to our motivation as nature has its own time and we cannot control this.
I am not saying we should not have goals. The point is if we make them the complete focus of what we want to attain, and put deadlines to this, then at some stage we are highly likely to be demotivated.
So, for many of us the weighing and measuring sessions, even if only done once a month, can be highly demotivational. The key to this problem is making the strongest focus in our weight loss pursuit, not size, shape or weight but motivation through joy, love and happiness. By concentrating on how happy, energetic and alive the exercise makes us feel we increase our motivation. And what is the result of this change of focus? Gradual weight loss and an ability to achieve and sustain the weight loss we desire, in our body's own time.
The answer then, for some of us, is to stop weighing and measuring, if it has a demotivating effect on you. Focus on the buzz of life or get competitive with yourself, ignoring what anyone else is achieving.
Chrissie Webber is a published author and weight management motivation coach. Through her online company http://www.lifeshapers.co.uk/ she offers support, motivation and re-parenting to the 95% - 97% of dieters who are still struggling to find the weight they were born to be. Her web site and blog http://www.chrissiewebber.co.uk/ offer motivation 'Keys' that help children, parents and adults discover a life without guilt, shame and self-loathing. To learn/relearn the skills of 'Conscious Eating' and how to live in harmony with food and nature become an online member today: http://www.lifeshapers.co.uk/
What The Bleep Do You Know
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