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When it comes to making the decision to start eating right and living healthy, it is a huge leap of faith that takes a great deal of courage and tenacity to go into unchartered territory. Especially those of us who have tried diet and after in the past with merely nominal or no success, this is a shaky proposition even for the most optimistic of people. I admire anyone who makes an effort at it because I've been there!
But we are our own worst enemy sometimes, aren't we?
If we as individuals think our diet is boring or too methodical, then those are merely excuses we use to rationalize getting out of our responsibility to do something about our weight and health problem before it is too late. How many of us have been guilty of doing that? I sure have...in the past.
Low-carb living has never been about being the "perfect diet" (although it's pretty darn close!). Instead, what I've learned is that this way of eating is always a work in progress that you will do for the rest of your long and healthy life. It's been nearly four years and counting for me and I expect it to continue for 10, 25, even 50+ more years that the good Lord keeps me here on Earth.
Despite this undisputed fact, some dieters just can't help trying to sabotage their own efforts (whether knowingly or otherwise) to shed the pounds as evidenced by the following e-mail I received from a reader this week who is new to low-carb and has allowed a silly little electronic device to beat her down and spit her out like some worthless piece of trash. How sad!
Here's what she wrote to me in that e-mail:
My husband and I have been on the low-carb diet for about two months now. He has lost 18 pounds so far and I have only lost 5 pounds.
I have to admit that about every five days or so I eat something that is not low-carb and I know that's silly because I'm only hurting my weight loss efforts.
It has been two weeks now and I have not cheated one time and yet I have only lost one little pound! I'm so very frustrated because I am committed to losing weight now. But it just seems like it won't come off.
I have even started going to the gym and doing cardio workouts to see if that would help me any. I was wondering since you had so much success with low-carb if you would have any suggestions for me.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my e-mail.
Oh, if I had a dollar for every e-mail I received like this one, then I could afford to have that tummy tuck I need already! It breaks my heart to see these same recurring themes over and over again from people who would otherwise experience amazing success on the low-carb lifestyle. This usually hits people who are just starting off on low-carb and seeing slow results or who have hit the dreaded stall in their weight loss.
Aside from the fact that she admits to and realizes her cheating has severely slowed her weight loss and now she's resorting to desperate and perhaps meaningless measures like walking on a treadmill to kickstart her weight loss, there are some deeper problems that need to be addressed first and foremost.
Unfortunately, people like this dear woman are allowing that scale to dictate their attitude about how the diet is working. When I personally counsel people one-on-one about low-carb and weight loss and hear such statements like "I have ONLY lost 5 pounds," I try to immediately give these dear souls a reality check.
Um, hello, YOU LOST FIVE POUNDS!!! That's five pounds that you will NEVER see again and you should celebrate that! Also, it's time to get excited about losing that next 5, 10, even 20 pounds in small chunks at a time until you reach your goal!
Check this out because it is a good point to remember--I didn't lose 180 pounds in 2004. Instead, I lost 10 pounds eighteen times! :D There's a BIG difference!!!
It goes back to that idea of perspective I keep harping on over and over again lately and will continue to do so until it finally sinks in. If seeing a number on a scale is going to cause you to give up hope and quit (this is NOT an option, by the way!), then put that stupid scale away in the closet for a full month and simply follow the plan faithfully like it's working perfectly!
Something incredible, even magical will happen.
You'll become more excited and keep that gung-ho attitude you had about the low-carb lifestyle that was present when you first started. Your focus will be on the process rather than the perceived results. And this is vitally important!
Before long, those feelings of wondering what's wrong with your low-carb plan will be replaced with elation and joy that you are not just losing weight, but you are gaining confidence, beaming with pride from your accomplishments, and feeling better than you ever have before. That's precisely what happened for me in 2004 and my body did a miraculous turnaround, too!
Getting befuddled and beleaguered by that dreaded scale is a surefire sign that you need to implement this simple, yet effective strategy into your program. Regardless of how long you've been low-carbing, putting that scale away for a temporary amount of time may be just what you need to do to get moving again with your weight loss.
I for one absolutely LOVE the scale and get on it multiple times throughout the day. Regardless of what the number is, I don't get too excited or depressed about it. It's just a number and a fleeting sign of my progress. As I blogged about earlier this month here at "30-In-30," you have to enjoy the process of this or there's no point in even TRYING. Get EXCITED people! Your life is changing for the better!
Also, something this e-mail points out is how we like to compare our weight loss progress with others. I just have one thing to say--DON'T DO THAT! Sure, Sally may have lost 7 pounds this week, but that doesn't mean your 2-pound weight loss was any less significant.
When you go on this journey to improve your weight and health, then you must remember it's all about YOU and YOU ALONE! Stop comparing yourself to others especially if that is discouraging you. In some ways, I hate telling people I lost 30 pounds in my first month and 40 more pounds in my second month on the Atkins diet. People feel inferior if their results don't match up to mine. Again, it's about YOU, though, and nobody else.
If you feel like giving up because of your lack of weight loss or perceived "failure" in your diet, then let me encourage you to not lose heart. You WILL overcome and beat that defeatist attitude if you CHOOSE to do it. Therein lies the bottom line dilemma that we all must come to terms with if we are going to progress or regress in this journey.
The CHOICE is up to YOU!
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