You Can Be an Expert at Losing Weight
Kenneth Schwarz, Ph.D.
Julie Schwarz
Here's a difficult spot many women find themselves in. Is this where you are?
You're overweight, and you don’t like it. It's really making you unhappy. How in
the world did this happen? It’s almost as though it happened without your permission.
It just seemed to creep up on you when you weren't looking―you know, one or two
extra cookies here or there, maybe more sometimes. But that isn't nearly enough to pack on all those pounds. It remains a mystery.
Have you been too sedentary? No, you’ve actually been exercising. You've been taking
walks or going to the gym or going to yoga classes or using your treadmill. So just
where did this weight come from? Are you destined to be overweight forever? What
kind of cruel trick is fate playing on you?
So you go on a diet and it’s great for a while, but your willpower doesn't last. You start out with a bang and you lose some weight, but then just as fast you gain
weight back. You've begun to think you just can't do it. You don't have what it
takes. You feel like a failure. The truth is you can control everything in your
life but this. Is there something basically wrong with you? How come you can't do
it? Are you just a weak, incapable person?
No, you're not weak or incapable. In fact, you’re probably an expert. The problem is that you're an expert in the wrong thing. You’ve been spending a lot of time
and energy learning how to master the art of overeating and gaining weight. It took
you time and effort to get there, and now you’ve arrived.
Of course, this is probably not what you intended to do. In fact, it’s the very
opposite of what you wanted. How about considering this: exactly what did you do
to become such an expert in overeating, gaining weight, and breaking healthy diets?
You’ve been checked out and you can’t trace the cause back to anything physical.
So let’s see how it might have happened.
- At some point you tried out overeating as a way to help you get through certain things in your life
- It seemed to help you, so you began to do it over and over until it became your coping method of choice
- You practiced using food in this way until you got really good at it
- Your ability to “eat over it” (whatever the "it" was) grew over time until you became the skilled expert you are today
Would you like to reverse this unwanted trend? Would you like to change your calling and
become an expert at losing weight? You might wonder if it’s possible to alter your
course and do the opposite. It definitely is possible. Just like you learned how
to be an accomplished overeater and weight-gaining expert, you can learn to do something
different, something much better for you. Here are steps to take so you can now
become a pro at
losing weight.
- Study up on new ways of helping you make it through the ups and downs of your life
- Start using some of these strategies in place of overeating
- Practice a lot and get really good at utilizing these strategies
- Keep this up over time until it becomes second nature
What will happen when you
do these things? If you think about it, isn’t this just what it takes to excel at
something? So go out there and gather lots of good information to increase your
knowledge. Then try out some of the new things you find. Then practice and build
your skills. That’s how you become an expert.
It’s your decision which kind of expert
you’ll be.
© Maria's Last Diet. Maria’s Last Diet is an online weight loss support website for women. At Maria’s Last Diet, you’ll find the tools to fix the thoughts, feelings, and automatic habits that fight against you when you diet. Because it’s never just about the food. Visit www.mariaslastdiet.com for more diet tips and weight loss motivation.
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