I listened to something recently which was talking about commitment and it got stuck in my head. Do you ever hear something that changes your perception on a certain subject? It was like a lightbulb went off in my head. It was all about how people commit to various things in their lives, but when it came to making a commitment to themselves, which would ultimately improve their personal lives, people fell short. I think it was in Les Brown talk. If I can find the link I will post it here. The talk made me question my own ability to commit to certain things but I also thought how relevant it was in the realms of women's weight loss.
I have a very good understanding of why women battle with weight. That is because I am a woman and endure the same battles. I am always trying to learn about the behind the scenes, not so obvious reasons, that can be hidden in the subconscious contributing to the self-sabotage behaviour women often display, including myself, and why we do it to ourselves.
If you were asked this simple question, 'Are you afraid of commitment?', I am 99.999% sure you would say no, but are you really? Why do so many of us fail when we go on a 'diet' (hate that word by the way but stay with me)? Not all 'diets' are healthy but if they are a weight loss diet, chances are, if you follow it you will lose weight as advertised, but so few of us commit to them. Maybe because it is hard. It is also very hard to save for a mortgage but plenty do!
In my opinion, the reason we fail is a lack of commitment. We are afraid of committing to ourselves. Yes we can commit to our partners, jobs, children, mortgages, family but to ourselves? We seem to lack in that department big time.
On the outset, and I have encountered this many times with women who begin a weight loss program with me, they are already giving themselves a get out clause before they even begin. I am sure you can relate too. You join a new class, or a weight loss club. You have paid the fee for the service provided, you are motivated, determined, that this time you will conquer your goals. You turn up in the gear with your carrot sticks in the car and your new trainers upon your feet and the first thing you say to your trainer is....'I hope this works', 'sure, I'll give it a go and see how I get on.' STOP RIGHT THERE!
That is self-sabotage talk. You are already making the excuses for failure in those statements. This is a clear indication that you have not made a commitment! I'm sure a lot of you have gone back to study or taken on a new project at work or some such thing. You have experience in committing yourself to the task at hand. This is how you have to approach your weight loss goals. I'm serious! You, yourself need to make sure there is no room for failure.
The first thing you need to do is decide how badly you want it. If it is something you really want to achieve, then the next decision you have to make is, 'can I commit to this?'. If your first decision is that you badly want to achieve your goals, then your second decision, hands down has to be that you can and will commit to it.
So what does this commitment look like? It's late in the evening. You planned on going for a walk but you got home late from work and you have just managed to get the kids to bed. The fire is lit, the sofa looks cozy and you are feeling weary. So at the moment you decide to sit down and rest yourself. This my friend, is the opposite action to the commitment you have made to yourself. Yes you got home late, the kids have just gone to bed but you have committed to getting this walk done. You have been thinking about it half the day. So you put your runners on, put your playlist on your phone and open the front door and step out into Commitmentville! Get your 30 minute walk done, home, shower and a guilt free snuggle on the sofa knowing that you did what you have to, in order to reach your goals and you feel so much better for doing it.
Let me know what tricks you use to stay committed to achieving your goals or why you find it difficult to commit. I am always interested. You can email me at info@fitnessatthebodyshaper.com
I look forward to hearing from you!
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