It's all about the Process

Last night, I was kayaking. Arriving at the river, I thought: "this is crazy.” It was dark, rainy and cold. I could have easily started the car and headed home to a warm environment. Inside me though, I knew that I'd be competing in a few weeks, and that my team-mates had been training through the cold weather. So, I layered on neoprene, wool socks, and toque and away I went. As I was out there I was wondering "what drives me;” and, "who cares?” In a few weeks I'll be competing against many Masters Athletes from around the world. Quite frankly, I don't care if I'm first or last, but I at least want to be hard competition for others. When I return, I cannot stop training, otherwise I will lose all my fitness; so, I will set another goal and try to maintain a proper fitness regime.

What does this have to do with losing weight? In my mind, it's much the same. There really is no end, no gold medal when you lose weight. You are doing it for you. Whether that is for appearance or health, it doesn't matter. It's peculiar that people give up so easily on themselves. If they don't see immediate results, or "big” results, they give up. Yet, the most important thing we have to learn is that weight loss and weight maintenance are all about a process to develop good habits that will last a lifetime. If you do the little things, day by day, week by week, month by month, you will achieve whatever you want. Remember though, that the hardest part is not the weight loss (because you will see the changes and hear compliments); it's maintenance. During maintenance, even though you still have to be vigilant of food choices and exercise, you won't be hearing the same positive reinforcement; you may even wonder if it's all worth it, and just return to old habits. What I hope desperately though, is that people learn to enjoy the process, just like an athlete training. All those things you do daily (such as refusing junk snacks and keeping portions controlled) will make you feel fantastic – both physically and emotionally.

We tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves when dieting. There is an illusion (or is that a delusion?) out there, that we "should” be able to see a lot of weight coming off week by week and month by month. When we don't see the results that we had (unrealistically) expected, we tend to blame people, situations or life in general. Yet, if we are losing too much weight week by week it usually means we are losing not only fat, but muscle; then, once we reach an arbitrary number on the scale we are surprised how fast the weight comes back on. The reasons for this are many; but really, the most common reason is that we have not learned a lifestyle of eating properly: learning how to cope with food over the holidays, at social events, on weekends or in stressful situations.

Athletes have to repeat the same thing over and over and over again for YEARS, just to achieve the proper body mechanics and cardio pulmonary fitness to achieve his or her goals. Even then, there is no guarantee that this will result in first, second or third place in any particular sport. That athlete must learn to enjoy the workouts and not worry about the end result. In the same fashion, we must realize that we're learning eating and exercise habits that will not only lead to weight loss, but more importantly, will help us maintain the weight loss we've achieved.

So, do not give up on yourself. Some people lose weight quickly; some do not: this is genetically and emotionally determined. Just keep trying. Enjoy the process and be happy with every small success you achieve. You can do it. Don't ever give up.

Dr. Doug