Bodacious & Curvaceous

My computer is malfunctioning. I will be away for awhile!

I recently came across a video online that really pissed me off. You see, everyone is different and we’ve all taken different pathways to get to where we are now. Yet occasionally there comes times when individuals in the weight-loss “community” seem to forget that. My philosophy is that we are all different. Yes, calories-in versus calories expended is true for everyone. At the same time, I don’t think we can all suddenly flip the switches and change our habits. For some people, that is the case. They wake up one day and realize, “I’m worth it!” and they never touch the junk food again or over-eat. They don’t miss workouts and they are on plan 100% without fail. KUDOS to them!

Some people have discipline to eat the same thing every day for breakfast to lose weight. Others can forgo their favourite textures and meals. Still, some folks can stare at a candy-bowl for hours without feeling temptation. The reality, however, is very different for most people. We all have different thresholds depending on where we are in our journey. Know your limits. I cannot have a box of 100 calorie chocolate bars in my cabinet because I will eat them all. I will be too tempted to indulge or over-indulge. I can not count calories because it triggers me in a vicious binge-starve-binge cycle. That doesn’t mean I can’t limit my calorie intake or reduce my calorie intake. I do that. I just do it in a different way. I think about the food I eat and I plan it and essentially I’m “calorie-counting” but not exactly.

No problem, right? Makes sense? Well, apparently the hype of self-talk has reached an all-time high where realistic understandings of our limitations are out of question. They are reduced to “negative thinking” and of course no one wants to hear negative thinking. See, I think you have to do what you can do when you can do it. If you can’t do something now, that’s okay. DO WHAT YOU CAN DO! And then, gradually progress Progress at a pace that is suitable to you. If it takes you a year to lose 50lbs then, BRAVO! Statistically speaking, the chances of you re-gaining the weight are pretty darn slim as compared to rapid/drastic changes. As you get stronger, you increase your weight… as you get more disciplined with your food intake, you eat cleaner! Often, I find that once the weight comes off a bit people are more motivated to make more changes. It’s a winning cycle.

Unfortunately, I saw a lot of hype in a video without a lot of thought. It was a misguided attempt at motivating people away from negative thinking. Ironically, the video that was challenging negativity took on a negative approach. “Either toughen up or leave! I don’t want to hear I can’t.” Yet, a part of being in a weight loss community is being able to express yourself when you are in need of support. That means on the bad days you don’t have to put on a game face. You don’t have to pretend to be 100% positive every day. You can be who you are without your intentions or motivations questioned. Telling someone you don’t want to hear them when they are down or having a bad day is not only unsupportive but it promotes unhealthy behaviors like trying to hide or deny feelings that should be appropriately expressed. By all means, engage in positive self affirmations, just know you don’t have to feel bad if you don’t live up to them all the time or feel down on occasion. That is life. That is “keeping it real.”