Your Weight Loss Journey Does Not Start with Diet and Exercise

We have all been there - you see your doctor, knowing that you will be told to make some lifestyle changes to improve your health. The doctor will advise you to lose weight by changing your diet and starting an exercise program. Now, of course, you are already fully aware that you need to make these changes when the doctor hands you a diet recommendation, such as the Mediterranean Diet, and provides some exercise tips.

But here is the thing, if you are like most people who are living with obesity, you walk into your doctor’s office knowing that you have to lose weight and get healthier, but what you don’t know when you leave is….

• How are you going to deal with feeling overwhelmed and thinking you do not have enough time when starting another weight loss journey? 

• How are you going to deal with the incredible disappointment you feel when the scale does not move enough in the right direction?

• How are you going to deal with feeling discouraged and having low self-confidence from your past weight loss attempts and failures?

• How are you going to deal with your frustration of having no idea what to do first and how to stay motivated?

• How are you going to deal with the stress from the everyday pressure of feeling like you need to see some fast results before something bad happens with your health?

These are just some examples of the very real concerns that arise when you want to lose weight and overcome obesity.  Now, let’s be clear, there is no doubt that to achieve a physical transformation, a healthy nutritional and exercise plan has to happen. However, if you don’t develop a strategy first to deal with the types of concerns listed above and the negative thoughts and forces that will certainly threaten your success, you will quit any new diet and exercise plan long before it has a chance to make a difference in your life.

This is why your weight loss journey does not start with focusing on a diet and exercise plan. 

It begins with creating a plan to help you manage all the other aspects of your life that can lead you to quit, such as your thoughts, emotions, motivation, attitude, and desire to fight through adversity. None of these things has anything to do with your body, but they can all impact how you treat it. You must develop a plan to tackle your specific mental challenges and adversity, as only then can you achieve and sustain long-lasting weight loss success.

I know this is not what you typically hear. I have been battling obesity for years, and I always thought the starting point of my lifestyle behavior change journey to lose weight began with a strong motivation to begin a new diet, start exercising, start new good habits, and stop bad ones. And there is no doubt that these changes will be essential, but they are not your starting point. 

I was never able to achieve any long-lasting lifestyle changes because I never found new ways to deal with the adversity in my life. So when it came knocking at my door, I returned to what I knew and what I had programmed in my brain, and that was to go back to the behavior and habits that got me obese in the first place.  

                                                                              Sound familiar? 

                                                                              So, the question is…. 

                       If diet and exercise are not the starting point of your lifestyle change journey….What Is?

Well, it is essential to start at the very beginning and recognize that the main reason for changing your lifestyle behavior is to Solve A Problem.

So 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.

A Sense of Awareness means that you have conscious knowledge and understanding or are well-informed about a particular situation or problem regarding yourself, others, or your environment that is preventing you from moving forward.

Why is a sense of awareness so important?

Because it is impossible to solve a problem you have no clue exists.

Now, at first glance, this seems obvious, I mean, of course, you must be aware that you have a problem to solve to, well, solve it. However, let’s explore this further, because sometimes it is not as straightforward as it seems.

                                    It May Not Be Obvious To You That a Problem Exists

We all know parents who think their children are perfect little angels, but they are often the worst-behaved children – ask any teacher.  The parents lack any sense of awareness that their children have issues and, therefore, are unaware of any problem to solve. As a result, they will not act.

Or your friend, who is overweight and does not feel well, thinks her diet has nothing to do with how she feels and is confident that her nutritional plan is fine. However, the truth is that her eating is very flawed and is contributing to her current health issues. Your friend has no sense of awareness that there is a problem to solve with her nutrition, and, therefore, will not see the need to take any corrective action.

We can all think of someone who is unaware or in denial of a problem to solve in their life, or who does not believe their home, work, or community environment is unhealthy.

                                                            So, my question to you is…

                                       Are You Aware That You Have A Problem To Solve?

Once you have determined that you have a problem to solve, it is important to acknowledge it.

                                                  Awareness Lets You See The Problem 

                                              Acknowledgment Empowers You To Solve It

Now, knowing that you have a problem to solve and acknowledging it is only half the battle; Step 2, or the second part of your awareness that you have a problem to solve, is...

                                                      To Know Exactly What The Problem Is

Again, just like Step 1, knowing exactly what the problem is may seem very straightforward, but it is not always obvious. You may be thinking, “How can that be?” To be aware that you have a problem to solve, you have to know what the problem is. It is a fair point, but I am here to tell you that it is not always the case.

Let’s return to the nutrition example with your friend in Step 1. Let’s say she now acknowledges that her nutrition plan is not the best and may have a negative impact on her health. However, she believes the exact problem is a lack of supplements, and she thinks that to solve her problem, she must add the right supplements to her diet. However, the truth is, to improve her health, she needs a much more balanced diet with ample fruit, vegetables, and water – adding supplements will certainly not hurt, but it is not exactly what her problem is.

So, the good news is your friend is off to a great start by being fully aware and acknowledging she has a problem to solve with her diet. Still, she will not successfully correct the problem if she does not know precisely what the problem is and therefore focuses on the wrong solutions.

                                                                      My Next Question To You Is…

                                                  Do You Know Exactly What Your Problem To Solve Is?

After completing these first two steps, you are well on your way to changing your lifestyle and overcoming obesity for good.  More steps will be covered in future blogs, but for now, congratulations are in order; this is not easy, but you did it - Let’s keep going!