Have you decided to lose weight now? Or are you putting it off until next Monday, or some indeterminate time in the future?
Is it something you think you’re going to do, but not yet because it’s not a good time – you’re busy, you’re going on holiday soon, life is a bit stressful at the moment…
Did losing weight make it to your New Year’s resolution this year, maybe last year too?
Most people who are overweight know the excess pounds are damaging their health, and you may be easing the worry by saying that you will do something about it, just not right now, but you will!
This is a brilliant way to put things off, and at the same time reassure ourselves that we will get around to doing something about it – just not right now. It eases the niggling worry for a little while.
But in reality we’re kidding ourselves. We play these kind of procrastination games with ourselves all the time to make ourselves feel better.
“I will lose weight and get healthier, but not just now” pacifies the worry temporarily
You could decide to lose weight now, i.e. start right now. But you feel like next week might be better. But actually today is a week on from last week, and you might have put it off then.
Why do you think you’ll be any different this time next week, or next month? This is like having your start date on the end of a stick and as you step forward into another week, your start date is on the end of the same stick and is pushed into the next week, you never actually reach it.
This way of thinking becomes a habit. All you have to do so see if you’ve developed this habit is look back and see if this is what you’ve been doing for a long time.
If losing weight repetitively features on the New Year’s resolutions list – you’re guilty of this!
Another habit people get into which stops them deciding to lose weight now is to always look for reasons to put it off:
- I’ll do it when life is less stressful
- There’s no point starting before my holiday
- I’ll start next Monday
While you’re playing these pacifying games with yourself the extra weight you’re carrying is causing damage to your body, you might be showing signs of this already. Add time to the mix (because you keep putting it off) and the damage accumulates – you get sick, or sicker.
To start breaking out of this begin to notice the games you’re playing with yourself, because sometimes simply becoming aware of what you’re doing can be enough to snap you out of it.
How are you putting it off? How are you kidding yourself that you will do something about it, someday.
Maybe you think it won’t happen to you, most people think like this, and it’s another game we play with ourselves. I hear this a lot when I’m handing out the tissues to patients who’ve just heard some bad news about their health. You can make a decision to lose weight now and for this now to be you.
Next week we’ll take look at some ways to break though this.
Have a great week.
Dr Julie
PS – There is plenty in this book that may help nudge you towards making the decision to finally take the bull by the horns and lose weight now, and keep it off for good!
