When most patients come to our program, they focus on what they want at the end of the process. They have a specific goal in mind which is usually a certain number of pounds they would like to weigh. The idea of reaching that goal is often singular in their mind. By this, I mean that instead of seeing a number of different behaviors that have to be done to achieve the goal of losing weight, they think of it as one simple thing.
However, anyone who has done it successfully knows that losing weight is a function of doing several things together. And, if you're doing it correctly, there is benefit from each of the things that you are doing even if they don't individually lead to weight loss. For example, being physically activity on a regular basis is good for your weight, but also lowers blood pressure, cholesterol, and improves your mood. All of these are beneficial for you, even if you don't lose a pound from being physically active.
The process of losing weight is not linear-- you can't predict with any consistency what will happen with your weight on a day to day basis even if you repeat the same exact behaviors every day. If you are not patient, this can be frustrating and you begin to wonder, "What did I do wrong?" If you have been maintaining the healthy behaviors that are part of your new lifestyle, you've done NOTHING wrong. In fact, you've been practicing the behaviors that are going to keep you healthy lifelong. When you take this perspective, your weight loss is a nice by-product of your healthy lifestyle, not your singular focus.Now you can save your patience for something else...like traffic on highway 280!
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