Have you put your life on hold until you lose weight? Do you tell yourself that after you lose weight you’ll apply for a better job, you’ll work on being more social, and you’ll try (fill in the blank – canoeing, biking, swimming, hiking, etc.)? Well, right now, as you read this text, this is your life. You are living it now, and I encourage you to do what you want to do now instead of waiting until you lose weight.
Even though I’m not at my ideal weight yet, I have come a long way in how I relate to food and the scale. I used to think that life would be perfect after I lost weight, and then I would really start doing all of those things I’d been waiting to do. Guess what I learned? When I started doing the activities and going for the goals that I’d been putting off, I lost weight! I naturally dropped my obsession with food and the scale, and life became much more normal.
While setting a goal to lose weight and shape up is certainly a valid, it’s very unhealthy to make that your exclusive goal in life. I could see an exception to that, for example, if you are a personal trainer or compete in professional physical fitness competitions, but otherwise, losing weight and shaping up should only be one of many goals in your well-rounded life.
I have seen this so many times: an intense focus on weight loss, food, the scale, to such a point that the rest of life is pushed aside and put off until you reach that magical number on the scale. What happens though when you reach that number? I bet that you don’t suddenly change and start doing all of those things you said you would do when you lose weight, but instead find another diet to focus on.
My point is that your life is now. Why put off having fun and going for the goals you have in the rest of your life? Now, if you don’t have any other goals besides weight loss, today is the time to start thinking about what else you want to accomplish in your life. Believe me, once you have other goals to work towards and are doing those things today that you’ve been putting off until later, you will start to have a healthier relationship with food and your weight.
Make your life fun and enjoyable now; don’t put it off until you have reached imagined perfection on the scale. 😉
Great point – sometimes we just have to jump in head first and worry about the details later. As we put ourselves in situations we would like to be thinner in, we will be more motivated.
I agree wholeheartedly with you! Actually, as I have been losing weight my daily activities have increased so much! I am living a lot more than I have been capable of in the past couple of decades, mainly because I am healthier, stronger and just plain loving life more. Losing the anchor of 80-some pounds has been a major blessing and from the very start, it has had snowball effect on my whole life.
@Joe, thanks for your comments! I agree, it’s so important to go ahead with your life instead of waiting until you get to your goal weight. And you’re right, you can gain more motivation to shape up that way!
@JanB, thanks for your comments, too! 🙂 That is so wonderful, 80 lbs is a large amount to lose. I’m sure that you can tell a huge difference in your life, not to mention your health and daily activities. Thank you for your inspiration!
thanks for this post. yeah, you ´re right. i ´m also waiting to lose some weight before i ´m gonna do some other things. i never had a girlfriend (i ´m 25 now) and i thought, maybe i ´ll have one when i ´m a little thinner. i ´m not that fat (175cm/85kg) but i don ´t like my little belly…
Well said JoLynn!
Your words ring true, I also find that if you focus on just getting regular exercise as opposed to worrying about every last calorie, you can have a much easier time reaching your goals…
This has worked for me, but everyone is different…so use what works for you 🙂
Hi Chilli,
Thanks for your comments! I’d encourage you to not let your weight hold you back from social (or other!) goals. Focus on feeling good about yourself where you are today, on all of the positives in your life. It’s easy to say “I’ll do that later when I’m thinner”, but when does that day come? 😉