Weighing In - On Choices and Consequences
Posted by Alicia Leeds on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 @ 03:17 PM
"Can I have that?" is a question I often hear as a weight loss coach. And my answer is always the same.
You can have whatever you want to have, today, tomorrow, next week and next year... AND you will also have the consequences of those choices.
What most people really want to know is can they eat _______ and lose weight... and the answer to that question is usually... uhm, no.
When we want the consequences of our choices to change - we want to weigh less, we want to be healthier, we want to feel better, we have to back up and change our choices.
(Here is the HMR Calorie Chart that explains very simply how making different choices will help you manage your weight and health more effectively.)
Think of your food choices like your finances. The wine is like a trip to France and the chocolate cake is like a diamond bracelet. Of course you want them both! It's your birthday!
But you still have to pay the rent.
Living beyond your calorie budget is like putting all the extras on your AMEX, and the interest... compound, annually... on your waistline.
Having a health educator, personal trainer or Personal Coach can help you make better choices more consistently until those choices become habits and you build a healthier lifestyle. But no one can do it for you - and that's actually the good news. You have the power to change in any moment.
Say this, "I can have whatever I want to eat at any time, and I am making the choice to have ________ right now because the consequence I want is ______________".
So while we know that chocolate cake and weight loss don't go together in this statement, we can reaffirm our power to make the chocolate cake choice as long as we change the consequence. Say this a few times and it starts to get easier.
This statement EMPOWERS. Instead of saying I am eating this right now because I am tired, angry, celebrating, joyful, in the car, on a plane or at the movies, as though our choices happen to us, we can instead affirm our ACTIVE ROLE in choosing and thus take responsibility for the consequences.
Weight gain is not a result of having a birthday. But people say this to me, "I gained weight because it was my birthday."
I usually pause, uh huh... uhm, no. Not buying. Because... I do not believe that some demonic Betty Crocker forced chocolate upon you before allowing you another year of human life.
"I gained weight because it was my birthday" is like telling me birthday cake is inevitable and it just happened to you.
Try telling Bank of America you can't pay the rent because it's your birthday. You were in Tiffany's... "and the diamond bracelet looked so good and everyone else was wearing one... did I mention it was my birthday?" (it probably won't work on your spouse either)
Now say this; "I can have whatever I want to eat at any time and I am making the choice to have an Edible Arrangement because the consequence I want is to lose weight on my 50th Birthday"
Instead of focusing on the whys of your choices (emotion, location, expectation) confront the whats, the consequences of making the choices instead. It will be easier to change!
Yes, you can have it. And in America you can have it any time, any place, in any quantity, at any price AND for any reason! Have it your way! But Your choices = Your consequences. So You Decide.