Have you ever ventured into a restaurant that has a menu resembling a multiple page booklet and find yourself having lots of trouble making a decision as to what to order? The Cheesecake Factory and Maggie McFly’s come to mind as two examples of these types of restaurants that offer MANY choices. There are so many possibilities that many people, including me, need LOTS of time before the ordering decision is made.
Extending this concept beyond restaurant menus to other arenas of life: When we are faced with many different alternatives as to how to proceed with some action, it is common to enter a state of “paralysis by analysis”. This refers to a situation when/where a person does not move forward at all (“paralysis”) because of the time required performing due diligence (“analysis”) of each potential pathway.
Specifically focusing on weight control: There are SO MANY paths one could take in moving forward with a weight loss effort including:
- Following a high protein/low carb dietary plan
- Intermittent fasting
- Ordering a meal replacement program
- Joining an online support program
- Going to a medically supervised weight control program
- Focusing on exercise
There are many, many more bullet points that may be added to this list.
The point of this entry: Do NOT allow yourself to NOT move forward in your weight control efforts because you become bogged down in analyzing all of the different options available to you. Choose a course that favors “lifestyle/behavioral” changes over “dieting” and move forward aggressively. Try to NOT allow yourself to be caught up in “paralysis by analysis”.
I will not end this entry with a song today. Instead, here is a hilarious scene from a 1999 Billy Crystal/Robert DeNiro picture called “Analyze This”. In the comedy flick, Crystal plays a Jewish psychiatrist that is forced into treating an Italian mob boss (DeNiro) who is suffering from an anxiety disorder. Sorry for the four letter words in the video below, but if you are a Billy Crystal fan, this movie must be on your list of movies to watch.
