During a long-term weight control journey there are plenty of times when we feel discouraged. Perhaps 5-6 out days of the week, dietary adherence and exercise occurred and then for 1-2 days, these lapsed into old behaviors and when lack of progress is seen on the scale, a sense of discouragement occurs. Maybe an orthopedic problem happens, exercise is limited, no adjustment of eating takes place and the weight number goes up. Discouragement is felt. There are many other examples that can be provided highlighting the concept of “discouragement” during the journey.
The problem is that the sensation of discouragement will often lead to the next phase which unfortunately is the “I Give Up” mindset. If a person is trying in many ways, yet is not seeing results, why should she/he feel compelled to continue the efforts. May as well eat/drink what you like, not stress about any/all of this and simply give in…right? Well, this becomes problematic as the continued or worsening poor weight control may lead to LOTS of medical and psychological problems.
Encouragement is a VERY IMPORTANT component to a successful long-term weight control journey. This encouragement may come from others around you such as family or friends. Encouragement can also come from support groups (ahem, the Serotonin-Plus Facebook group awaits your presence), either online or in person, such as Weight Watchers meetings. For those of you coming in for visits or doing telemedicine visits with us, I do believe you get encouraged lots by the SP Team and I.
Self-encouragement is also a positive experience as you navigate the journey. Pat yourself on the back for the hard work you have done in weeks you have lost weight but additionally, encourage yourself to pick yourself off the mat, dust yourself off and go fighting into another round (week) if you experienced a challenging week and gained some weight.
If you have not been in our office for awhile, I ENCOURAGE you to come in for a FREE body scan, say “hi” to our team and I am going to bet you will walk out the door feeling more encouraged about reviving and reinvigorating your efforts.
To answer the question posed by this entry: There is LOTS of power to encouragement. Avail yourself of this!