Have you ever felt like you have tried everything without success?

BY LYNN LESSELL

“ME” MondayTM 8-5-19
Have you ever felt like you have tried everything without success? It’s frustrating, right? There aren’t any quick fixes.
Attaining long-lasting results requires shifting from what you have always done before to something new that becomes an automatic behavior.
After having my second child, I was not able to lose any of the 65 pounds I had gained. It felt like I had tried every diet and couldn’t lose a pound. Exercise!? Geez, I was on the move all day long with work, kids, home. There was no energy to exercise. I just wanted to sit down! Then I decided to give it one last try when I heard an ad for free registration at Weight Watchers. The first week, I lost 7 pounds. Ok, I’ll try one more week and lost a few more. I keep saying one more week until suddenly 10 months later, I had lost all the weight plus a few pounds extra.
Great, right? It was only great if I kept it off. The secret- lifestyle changes. That meant exchanging some old habits for new ones.
Lifestyle changes apply to any goal, not just dieting. Habits are the things we automatically do without thinking.
How many daily routines do you have?
When the alarm goes off in the morning and wakes us up, we instinctively head for the bathroom to wash up and get ready. An even simpler example is we ‘stop’ on red and ‘go’ on green. Why? Because it is an action we repeat over and over for so long it becomes automatic.
One of the reasons it seems so tough to change a habit is that it can take at least three months to develop a new one and possibly longer to avoid slipping back into old ones.
For me, it wasn’t only about losing weight but about maintaining the loss. Even though it took me 10 months to lose the weight, it took several more until the changes in my eating habits became so repetitive I forgot what they were like before! I’ve kept the weight off for 31 years.
If you feel like you have tried everything without success, that doesn’t mean there is no solution. Don’t be hard on yourself.
Determine the source of your desire to make a change and appreciate yourself for acknowledging the reason to change.

It is going to take a length of time which can vary from person to person and situation to situation. Don’t set firm deadlines.
Find a buddy, group or coach to be accountable to. Support and accountability can be just what’s necessary for success.
Most important, forgive yourself if you break the new routine and start over!
Prioritize self-care and make the positive changes you want. Start on “ME” MondayTM. There is no time like now!

More info: https://psychcentral.com/lib/7-steps-to-changing-a-bad-habit/

If you could do something for yourself right now that you are not doing, what would that be…?

To your health!

Lynn Lessell

Certified Health/Life Coach