Weight Challenges: Procrastination & Motivation
Procrastination is a word that is too popular in our world. Some are good at it, but for most of us, it drags us down. This comes to many things, but for today’s blog, I will focus the procrastination on the physical challenge of weight. According to a poll done by Gallup studies 43% of U.S adults consider themselves as overweight. Consuming large amounts of food high in sugar & fat, as well as drinking a lot of alcohol are the two lifestyle factors that affect a person’s weight the most. An individual may unconsciously consider both of those things as normal ways they destress themselves. If their goal is to lose weight though, the motivation to get back to healthy weight may be biggest challenge on their plates.
“I’ll start my diet this week”. So you go to Whole Foods and buy all the healthy ingredients you need. You smile as you see it all stacked up in your fridge. Then your schedule gets filled from work, and after every shift you just plop on your couch. You decide you’re too busy- so the diet idea drifts away for the week. You open your fridge on Saturday and half the ingredients you bought are spoiled.
You buy a gym membership because your new year’s resolution was to go to the gym twice a week. But you find a great new show on Netflix and you can’t wait to watch a new episode after work every day for the next month. Then your gym membership expires. “Oh well, I never actually went and the cost isn’t worth it.” It gets even worse when a can of beer or a bag of potato chips is in reach then, because sitting comfortably on a couch gets too delightful.
Motivation and procrastination are two different things, and they both affect a person trying to lose weight in strong ways. Motivation brightens your goal path and highlights your lens looking at the finish line. It is easier to talk about it and people are more familiar with the term. But one also needs to be careful with it. “Yes! I held my diet for a week! I deserve a cookie!” Small wins are one way to motivate yourself, but challenge yourself. No cookie. Go get your nails done instead. It’s difficult to turn your thinking in a different direction, but keep in mind that it will help you drive towards that finish line. Having a friend that is also trying to lose weight is a strong motivator. So is exploring your triggers- what is truly making you reach for that wine bottle?
But if you’re not up for challenging yourself, and just going to keep “wanting to lose weight”, nothing is going to change. You are procrastinating. The definition of procrastination is to put off or delaying something often requires immediate attention. Fear of failure and perfectionism are two big root factors behind procrastination. I write this with empathy because I know it is difficult to ignore our culture that pushes skinny models with large breasts up on our billboards and commercials. We then consider these to be “perfect” bodies because they are most highlighted around us- so our fear of failure is then heightened. “What if I never look like that?” Jealousy, sadness and self-hate starts to sprout. Back to bad habits of eating and drinking.
One good strategy to overcome procrastination is eliminating distractions. With the topic of weight, this may be social media- where you see pictures of others looking “perfect” and “happy” with skinny legs and thin waists. While you do have to keep in mind that people only post the most perfect pictures of themselves on their Facebook pages, if you hadn’t have clicked your Facebook link, you wouldn’t even have to think about that! You’d be keeping your mind on your diet and improving health.
Another good strategy is to break tasks up into smaller steps. Set clear goals and deadlines. Wine nights with friends are on Fridays- once a week. Only. Gym time on Wednesday evenings with a friend (motivator). By the end of this month, I’ll add on Saturday morning yoga- every Saturday for a month. Challenge yourself. Any kind of weight change will never be quick nor easy, but you must be up for challenging yourself if you truly want to reach your goal. I believe in you, and so do the many others around me who inspired the ideas in this post.