The Significance of Setbacks

Losing weight can be a challenge, but keeping it off is the second and most difficult aspect of any weight management program. We have to practice, practice, practice those new behaviours we've learned. Understanding why we might have slips is essential both when losing weight and trying to maintain.
Why do we have problems making changes? It is not as simple as knowing what to do and doing it; if it was, we would have done so already. Unfortunately, behavior change is not that easy.
For weight loss and maintenance, we need to focus on long term change rather than just achieving short-term weight loss. The process of long term change can be very complex, and there will be challenges, derailments and pitfalls along the way.
One of the first considerations is to have realistic expectations. Many of us tend to be perfectionists, with very rigid rules and regulations: we berate ourselves when we are not perfect. This "all or nothing” thinking is impossible to sustain long term. When we do experience temporary derailments, getting back on track becomes a challenge – we give in, then give up and continue the downward trend. Doing things "perfectly” leaves very little room for learning and growth. When we learn to tolerate our setbacks or "imperfect” eating, we develop self-awareness and skills to help get us back on track much sooner.
Part of weight loss is discovering what will be good enough to help us lose weight, improve our health and learn the skills we need to manage our weight for the rest of our lives. Mistakes and lapses should not be seen as annoying events that interfere with weight loss, but rather as important elements that are a part of the process. We get stronger by struggling. Strength and struggle go together and are normal.
Understanding how our brains work can be helpful. As we continue a behavior, the neurons in our brains form a strong and intricate web; because our brains want to be efficient, behaviours become unconscious and all one needs to do is be in a certain place, experience a particular feeling, or be with a specific person and the brain will automatically react. This can lead to eating a bag of cookies without having an awareness of what we are doing. Our brains are on "auto-pilot.”
Fortunately, our brains have the ability to add or remove neural connections. In other words, our brains can rewire. However, it takes great attention and focus to form these new networks, which is why we have lapses back to previous behaviours. If we understand that it takes time for our brains to rewire and that during times of stress we will likely revert to old patterns, we can learn to be patient and practice changes. In this way we can manage our weight for the rest of our lives.
So, be consistent with changes in your behaviour and persevere through setbacks; use them as learning experiences and realize that struggling is an important part of long-term success. Always get back on track, no matter what happens. You CAN and WILL succeed!

Dr. Doug