Thoughts about weight management
The following in no way is intended to be considered as medical advice. Weight issues can be serious health concerns. While I doubt that any of these thoughts below could be harmful, like any health issues, one should always consult qualified medical advice concerning their particular circumstances.
When I first got out of college I was determined to save the world with all things psychological and sociological. For a time I worked in a Hypnosis clinic. Hypnosis in responsible hands is a legitimate process of relaxing and focusing on "suggestions" about a particular goal. While a number of the patients came to the clinic for a variety of things like smoking secession, stress and anxiety relief, the overwhelming majority were there for help with weight control issues. Along with the suggestive hypnotherapy, we gave them a variety of tips to help attain their weight loss goals. While I would not want to denigrate hypnosis, I think these lifestyle changes had as much to do with their weight loss. Some of the concepts are listed below.
Before you.... "close your eyes, take a deep breath and relax" ....you might want to check out these "suggestions":
Take some time to determine if you truly want to get control of your weight or whether you are like so many that really just want to talk about weight control rather than actually improve it. Do you just want to talk or do you want to solve the problem?
Know what your ideal weight is. BMI (body mass index) can help (see online charts). Then compare your BMI to the ideal.
Be realistic about your weight. Fashion pushes ridiculous standards. Don’t overdo your weight consciousness but don’t continue to fool yourself that you don’t need to manage a healthy weight.
# 1 Most important: Monitor your calorie intake. Get a chart or website of the calories in EVERYTHING you eat and keep a daily record of it. If you are not aware of what you are consuming you can’t control it.
# 2 With a few exceptions for metabolism issues, weight control is really simple: it just requires balancing calories in and calories out. If you are overweight you need to eat fewer calories and do more exercise.
We become what we think about. Start thinking regularly about your goals, what you want and how to realistically accomplish your goals. Have a vision of what you want to look like feel like. Cut out pictures of people you think you could look like…. be realistic. Find people who look like you would like to look and hang out with them…. we become like the people we associate with.
Get involved with a support group (formal or informal). Find other friends with the same interests and aspirations. Meet regularly with them to exercise and plan lifestyle changes. Make the gym a social place to meet. Consider joining a group like weight watchers.
Do some kind of regular exercise… something is better than nothing. Set a regular schedule, make it a habit every day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk instead of drive. Go for a walk instead of snacking. Find excuses to exercise rather than excuses not to exercise.
Get excited about learning to cook healthy. If you can’t cook you are left to the mercy of prepared, poor quality, bad food.
“Dieting” doesn’t usually work for the long term. Find a healthy food plan that you can actually stick with.
Drink water as a snack. Replace bad snacks with water or fruit or raw vegetables.
Don’t have junk food around.
Let your clothes tell you when you are gaining or losing weight. Don’t be a slave to the scale.
Set a few easily obtainable goals to begin with. Perhaps just counting the calories you actually eat, or not buying bad food, or exercising a half-hour a day to start. As you begin to feel success you can increase your goals.
It is much easier to keep weight off than it is to actually remove it. Don’t ignore weight gain.
Replace bad habits with good habits. Learn to reward yourself or distract yourself with activities and good feelings instead of eating food.
Try to avoid the “fad of the moment” and potions and pills. Stick with reducing bad calories and increasing physical activity.
If you are hugely overweight, talk to your doctor and see if you can get counseling or go to a clinic for help.
t.d.
Click on the labels at the top right of the page for more subjects.