Weight Loss: Unrealistic Expectations – How To Let Yourself Go #6
Posted on | July 7, 2008 | 4 Comments
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Weight loss is a funny thing. Indulge in unrealistic expectations and get ready for a crash landing.
Use “insert new ab product here” for 5 minutes a day – guaranteed weight loss of 40 pounds in just 2 weeks! Claims that are ‘backed up’ by pictures and fit models ‘using’ the product in the background.
Unrealistic? You bet.
It took years for that fat to move-in onto belly/thighs/butt… It’s not leaving without a fight.
As we let unrealistic expectations run unsupervised, we make ourselves vulnerable to “Why didn’t I?”, “I should have..”, “I’m weak, bad”, “I failed”… And at some point weight loss and good health seems so out of reach, we give up all together. After all, I tried, and tried but just couldn’t do it…
It becomes quite irrelevant that so much was accomplished, in our mind it was ‘failure” all the way.
Lets think of weight loss as driving a car.
Figure out where you want to go, get in a car, and go there. We take a trip.
If we are going somewhere new, there is good chance that a wrong turn will be made(I do it all the time). While under the influence of unreasonable expectations, a wrong turn or two, will make you stop in your tracks. What’s the use – we are in a wrong place, might as well go back. And it doesn’t matter that we are 70% closer to our destination.
Dangers of Unrealistic Expectation in Weight Loss
- Makes us think you’re always failing
- Makes it impossible to see positive changes and results
- Guarantees failure
What to do about it
- Work with fitness professional to establish realistic goals
- Acknowledge little positive changes/steps in the right direction(today I had one soda instead of my usual four)
- Give yourself credit for things that you did right. Share it with friends, Twitter about it, put it on your Facebook profile. Be proud of it!
- It’s OK to have an ‘off’ day. It’s like taking a wrong turn. When you realize you did it, turn around, ask for directions and get back on track
- Visualize yourself as healthy, fit, strong, and (insert your goal here)
- Keep exercise and food log. Note what works and what does not and keep track of progress
What are your goals and what is your plan?
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4 Responses to “Weight Loss: Unrealistic Expectations – How To Let Yourself Go #6”
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July 7th, 2008 @ 10:28 am
[...] Denis Kanygin added an interesting post on Weight Loss: Unrealistic Expectations – How To Let Yourself Go #6Here’s a small excerptWeight loss is a funny thing. Indulge in unrealistic expectations and get ready for a crash landing. Use “insert new ab product here” for 5 minutes a day – guaranteed weight loss of 40 pounds in just 2 weeks! Claims that are ‘backed up’ … [...]
July 8th, 2008 @ 6:08 am
This is a good post. I used to have these expectations too. I used to beat myself up over the fact that I dint lose the weight I wanted to. That was mostly because of the fact that I had unrealistic expectations. I joined Yoga (http://www.zendle.com) as I read a lot about how it can be practiced to lose weight. I think this is one of the most beneficial form of exercises, even physically. I have learnt the importance of having realistic expectations and to understand my body better. It’s always better to know what one can do.
July 8th, 2008 @ 8:34 pm
[...] Weight Loss: Unrealistic Expectations – How To Let Yourself Go #6 [...]
July 9th, 2008 @ 3:29 am
Great article Denis! I loved your analogy about thinking about weight loss like your taking a trip. I’m Digging it!