"I think I did a bad thing today," Marie quietly said. "Well, what did you do?" he asked gently. "I ate some potato chips," she replied. "Did you eat the whole bag?" he asked. "Yes" she whispered into the phone. "I got a craving for the sour cream and onion flavor. I only wanted a couple but once I started I just couldn't stop myself until they were all gone. And now I feel so bad." Sound familiar?
There are many weight loss diets and weight loss products on the market these days. But unfortunately Marie, like many people who initially succeed losing weight, can't seem to maintain permanent weight loss. Unconsciously, they sabotage weight loss and fail after some measure of success. After all the weight loss diets, weight loss programs, and weight loss medication they slowly they gravitate towards the old habits that got them in trouble in the first place. Maybe this has even happened to you.
When asked why she ate the whole bag, Marie honestly couldn't put her finger on the thoughts and feelings that led up to that moment. After all, she followed her weight loss program faithfully. She kept meticulous notes on her caloric intake, and exercised almost to the extreme. She consistently resisted urges to eat the sour cream and onion potato chips. Determined to succeed, she always pushed back from the table instead of having that butter pecan ice cream she craved so much. Formidable described her willpower to win the battle of the bulges, and she did. So what happened - or didn't - to Marie?
Well for starters, a weight loss diet or a weight loss program have three things in common. They all have a beginning, middle, and end point.
When Marie began her weight loss program she struggled daily to overcome the voice that said all her effort wasn't worth it and it wouldn't work. Maybe she was meant to be a full-bodied woman. After all, the "big-bone" body structure ran in her family. But she pushed past the negative thoughts. She kept saying to herself, "I want to lose weight, I have to lose weight."
After a few weeks she actually began feeling good exercising. There was a sense of achievement just getting up from the table when she was comfortably full. Yes, she was well on her way to her goal of healthy weight lost.
In two weeks the upward movement of the scale halted and Marie begun to experience rapid weight loss. "Oh my gosh!" she thought to herself, "I'm on my way to successful weight lost." So she stepped up the exercise, swore off all starch, and began eating only salads. And in the matter of months she had lost considerable weight and was looking good.
Looking, and feeling, good Marie decided to slack off her exercise program just a little. After all she reasoned, life was more than just exercise. Then she thought "there's nothing wrong with eating just a little" of the warm bread the waiter brought to the table at a restaurant. So without even realizing it, her weight loss program had come to an end and the self-sabotage had begun.
Slowly, Marie began acting like her "old" self again. The weight wasn't back, yet, but the mind-set was. Somewhere deep inside her a small voice was saying, "You don't need to eat that", and "you should stop, you've had enough already". However the old, familiar feelings of comfort and enjoyment food had brought her in the past overwhelmed the voice of logic.
Yes, Marie had changed the way she looked on the outside, but she hadn't changed her thinking on the inside. Her whole perception about food; what it signified and how it comforted her, hadn't been touched. And since she didn't change the perceptions on the inside first, they eventually overruled all the cosmetic alterations on the outside. This time was no different.
Marie didn't understand how powerful her unconscious beliefs and conditioning was. Every time she looked different, and in fact became someone different, she sabotaged her success.
But that's not the end of Marie's story. When she could no longer stand the pain that failure and defeat caused in her life, she learned to apply a few simple steps which helped her understand the thoughts and feelings shaping her whole life (and body). She began to see the real forces inspiring her behavior.
Marie has since lost the weight, has no fear of it returning, and is another weight loss success story. Because of learning how to apply a few simple steps Marie is freer than she's ever been in her entire life, and you can too.
For free information to start you on the road of successful weight loss management, email me at weight-loss-psy@aweber.com today.
Author, motivational speaker and personal coach, Malcolm Baptiste is a graduate of Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT. He specializes in personal development workshops and one on one coaching. Incorporating cutting edge techniques he helps people reach their full potential and permanent success.