Today becomes a bit of a trivia day, advice about your weight control journey and (drum roll please) a contest to earn a FREE bottle of serotonin. Here goes:
Remember the old ABC show called “Wide World of Sports”? The opening would show a really great ski performance and then someone wiping out on a ski jump and the announcer’s theme line was : “The Thrill Of Victory…And the Agony Of Defeat”.
Bringing this to the weight control journey: I have seen many patients that have incredible emotional responses to the news that awaits them on the scale. When the weight goes down aggressively, a number of people show incredible elation. They feel great that the scale rewards them for the efforts placed into losing the weight. Conversely, when weight gain occurs due to a difficult/challenging week, incredible sadness is displayed almost to the point of despondency.
I believe a successful long-term weight control journey requires a more even keel/emotional response to weekly changes. There will be weeks when the weight comes down nicely and others when the number ticks up. Rather than “live and die” emotionally based on the number, a more even emotional response is more conducive for long term success. The weeks that you are able to adhere to the plan and weight loss is seen, try to followup this up with the same patterns of eating/drinking/exercise that produced the positive impact week. Conversely, if the number went up, without expending energy on negative emotions, quietly resolve to be more disciplined the next weeks.
One of the important issues is also setting very realistic weight loss goals so there can be the positive feeling of “Makin’ it”. Those goals should be based on age, weight and any underlying medical conditions. My team and I can help you with this goal setting. “Makin it” (i.e. reaching the weekly goal) provides much positive energy to continue steadfast in your efforts.
Trivia time: The old 1970’s disco song “Makin’ It” song by David Naughton (see the hilarious video attached) was used in a very funny movie with a very young Bill Murray. First 3 people to e-mail ( info@spdiet.com)the correct answer to this question (NO USE OF INTERNET!!!) get a free bottle of Serotonin: What movie used this song?
