From Failure to Success
I was thinking these words on a recent jog I did at the arboretum. Truthfully I'm giving myself some fine literary license to call it a "jog.” Trudge or shuffle might have been more appropriate words. There was a time when I truly might have said "I went for a run;” but age and sore knees have slowed my efforts significantly. As I went around my first loop I was comparing my time to what I used to do 10 years ago and began berating myself for moving so slowly. I came to a full stop and forced myself to improve my state of mind and say, "I'm outside and I'm moving; who cares about my style or speed.”
The reason I bring these thoughts up is that I've seen so many people who feel that beginning a "diet” again conjures up a sense of failure. After all; most of us have done a minimum of 5 to 10 different diet programs throughout our lifetime. We are afraid of failing. Yet, what is failure?? If it now takes me 13 minutes to circumnavigate an arboretum loop compared to 10 minutes a few years ago, is that failure? Similarly, if you're eating better and moving more, developing more energy and are into smaller clothes even though you didn't lose your "50 pounds” or whatever your predetermined goal was, is that failure? I think not. It's a huge success.
We tend to develop an all-or-nothing state of believing. "If I don't lose 60 pounds I'm a failure.” But, losing 25 pounds and keeping it off, to me, is a magnificent success. We need to redefine success and failure; we must not be so harsh on ourselves.
If one looks at lifestyle change and not just "weight” on a scale, success would be defined as an improved quality of life. Good portions of healthy food; regular activity; proper sleep; and, if possible in our hectic lives, time to ourselves to relax. If your focus is fully on food and restriction, you will ultimately feel deprived, especially if you have a predetermined rate at which you think you should lose weight. Yet, as you know from my many letters, keeping weight off for a lifetime is our greatest struggle. For that you need changes not just in food, but in activity, proper sleep, relaxation and trying to improve those aspects of your health, such as pain or mobility, that decrease your quality of life.
Success to me is the small things we do. It may start with improvement in your choices or amounts of evening snacking. It may be less time watching TV. It may be going for that 30 minute walk, or 10 minutes on your treadmill every day. At the end of the day as you climb into bed you can pat yourself on the back if you made any small changes that have improved the quality of your food intake; made an effort to do a little activity; and maybe, just maybe, you got into bed a little earlier in the hopes of getting a proper amount of sleep.
Never put yourself down. (And if you do, realize we all are doing the same thing to ourselves too.) Aim for small successes in a day. Set goals, but set achievable ones. Be prepared for those events such as BBQ's, cottages, evenings and weekends which may sabotage your efforts. Don't allow yourself free reign to eat and drink everything. Try to watch your portions. It's those daily small successes that lead to a lifetime of good health.
It's not easy; that I know. Just hang in there and never give up trying!
Dr. Doug