How to Overcome Obstacles in Weight Loss

Last time we ended with the question of what would it take for our fictitious "Jane" to get and keep the weight off, having made her umpteenth New Year's Resolution.

Well, it’s January 18th and “Jane” has been on her “diet” for a little more than two weeks, but even with a reduction of 4 pounds her resolve is fading.  “What happened?” she thinks to herself.  “I was so excited coming into the new year with such enthusiasm for reaching my goal.”

If you feel like Jane does, let’s look at the difference between a resolution and a decision: First, let’s discuss a resolution.  According to Wikipedia, “A New Year's resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. “To think about “Resolution” – to “resolve” something is almost that you are “solving” it – i.e., putting it to rest such that it doesn’t upset our proverbial applecarts again. Inevitably, the challenge with this is that the human mind seems to think that a resolution is a sort of “magic bullet;” that just because he or she has made a resolution that this time it is going to be done.  But inevitably, when faced with the challenges of cravings, temptations and the like, the resolve gets thrown out the window with promises of coming back to it when it will be “easier.”

The very nature of change involves the need to overcome obstacles, but when making a resolution most people do not have a good plan for how they will deal with obstacles.  They rely on their resolution to be enough, when, in fact, it isn’t. 

Pre-planning, and having, in effect, a “toolbox” of solutions for dealing with and overcoming obstacles is key. Now let’s look at a decision.  According to Wikipedia,“Decision making can be regarded as an outcome of mental processes (cognitive processes)) leading to the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice.”

Why is this important?  If you have made a decision to get healthy and reduce your weight then for starters you are not merely resolving to “starting a diet” on New Year’s.  You are actually choosing to live a healthy lifestyle continuously from then on.  There is a distinct difference.   

You see, it is precisely because temptations and obstacles come upon you that you are going to have to decide over and over and over.  In fact, the challenge never gets completely resolved in that you will be eating for life.  Therefore, you will have to make a decision over and over again to eat the right things for your body for your entire life! For many people that seems far too big – it is as you are going to have to climb mount Everest, but only because of a habit that can be changed.  Once you have really changed habits consistently the decision does become easier.

I tell my private coaching clients when they come to me that up until now they have been used to eating healthy maybe two out of 7 days.  We are going to look for a progression.  In the weight-loss phase our goal is to follow a food plan 7 out of 7 days in order to achieve the healthy weight they want to be.  But then, for maintenance, if they are living a healthy lifestyle at least 5 or 6 days out of 7 they will stay slender and healthy for a lifetime.To do that takes patience.  There is no magic bullet.  The “magic” is in the decision you make, and re-make again and again and again.  The “magic” is knowing what diversions, tactics and tools you will use to overcome temptation and obstacles before you encounter them.

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