To Be Successful On Your Weight Loss and Lifestyle Behavior Change Journey : Know Your WHY!

In my blog titled 'Your Weight Loss and Lifestyle Behavior Change Journey Doesn't Begin with Diet and Exercise,' we explored exactly why diet and exercise are not your starting point. The blog identifies that Step 1 in any lifestyle behavior change journey begins with a Sense of Awareness that You Have A Problem To Solve and Then Acknowledging It; Step 2 is To Know Exactly What The Problem Is.

                                                                  So What Is Next….?

Well, now that you have acknowledged that you have a problem to solve and know exactly what the problem is, Step 3 is to......Know Your WHY!

More specifically, you must know WHY you want to solve your problem. This means understanding the deeper reason why you want to change your lifestyle behavior. Your problem to solve is your all-encompassing goal, but Why you want to solve it is more personal and emotional. It is the deeper reason behind your desire to change. Your Why gets beneath the surface. It connects the problem you want to solve to your values and the person you want to become so you can live the life you truly want.

For instance, my problem to solve was to stop binge eating on unhealthy foods every night, which made me obese. Here was My Why, or deeper reason for wanting to solve this problem:

“I want to stop eating unhealthy food, especially binge eating at night, which is causing my obesity, because I want to be present in my daughter’s life, not just watching from the sidelines. I am tired of feeling like my body is holding me back from the life I want to live because of the decisions I am making. I am tired of the mental pain I suffer from when I overeat. I want to beat obesity to feel physically healthy, confident, energized, and mentally free. I am going to solve this problem because I deserve it and because my health is not just about me - it impacts everyone I love. This matters to me because it is about the future I want to have. I want to become a healthy person.”

As you can see, my problem to solve was late-night binge eating that caused my obesity, but there was a much deeper reason for why I wanted to solve it, and that deeper reason was MY WHY. My WHY picked me up and kept me going when I faced some mental and physical setbacks along my journey. You will learn more about how important Your Why is in the Why YOUR WHY Matters section below.

If you are not sure about what Your Why is, here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you identify it:

What will change in my life if I solve my problem?

How will I feel about myself if I make this change?

What is at stake if I don't make this change?

                                                              Why YOUR WHY Matters

You may think that knowing Your Why is overkill and that having goals should be good enough for your weight loss goals. However, I am here to tell you that having goals is important, but it is nowhere near enough to keep you going. Why? Because of one word - Adversity.

Adversity is anything that happens in your life that threatens your readiness, willingness, and ability to stick to your plan to achieve your goals.

Adversity is a beast that affects people in different ways. Adversity can be dealing with the extreme disappointment you feel from bad habits that seem impossible to break; it can be the monster stress you feel from having financial problems; it can be the deep emotions you feel from a bad relationship; it can come from feeling overwhelmed by life’s challenges; it can be the tremendous physical and emotional pain you feel from dealing with an injury, the death of a loved one, a divorce, or the loss of a job. Or it can be the unbearable frustration you feel when your weight loss results do not match your expectations. Adversity can be traumatic, or it can be small cuts that affect you over time. No matter what it is, it can knock you off your journey and keep you off your journey until you look in the mirror and ask yourself,

                                                         “What Happened To Me?”

We all know that there are two guarantees in life - death and taxes. Well, there is one more guarantee, and that is, in your life, you will continue to encounter adversity - it is just an unfortunate part of life. Adversity is never kind because it does not care what is going on in your life when it strikes. It can strike when your confidence is high and you feel equipped to deal with it; it can strike when you lack self-confidence and are at a low point; it can strike when you are happy, sad, depressed, rich, or poor. It does not care about anything except for one thing - it tries to attack your confidence, will, and spirit—it tries to break you to the point where you feel like you have no desire to move forward.

To move forward, you have to deal with it, head-on! The great news is that:

 YOU CAN deal with it!

 YOU CAN overcome it!

 YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN prevent it from stopping you from achieving your goals!

There is no doubt that dealing with adversity and staying committed to your lifestyle behavior change journey can be hard and sometimes feel impossible. Adversity can overpower your goals but not Your Why.  One of your most powerful weapons in your arsenal to significantly diminish adversity’s power over you and pick you up and keep you moving forward is YOUR WHY!

Your Why is your internal compass; it is your anchor. It is the fire that keeps your commitment going, no matter what you face. It reminds you why you started, and the life that is waiting for you. If you let it, Your Why will become a loud and very powerful force in your head that picks you up when you need it most.

Write down Your Why; if necessary, carry it with you and read it before bed and when you wake up. Read it when you think nothing is working and you just want to quit. Read it when you are at your highest and lowest moments.

 Read It Over and Over Again!

When you read it, sometimes your commitment and desire to keep moving forward will come roaring back, and sometimes it will not come back as strong, but it will come back. As long as it comes back strong enough to help you stick with your plan, it is a win!

Trust me, during your entire journey of change, Your Why will be with you, helping, guiding, and keeping you focused. Sometimes it will be your best friend, and it wants to do everything it can to give you the strength to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, look adversity in the face, and tell it to get the hell out of here so that you can get back to your plan!

Your Why Matters A Lot And It Needs To Be A Part Of You Before You Start Your Journey.

I promise you it will give you a huge assist and boost when you need it most.

Do Not Underestimate Its Power In Your Lifestyle Behavior Change and Weight Loss Journey!