There's an annoying television commercial on the air - hawking yet another 'magic pill' diet solution. I think it's SlimQuick or something like that. The magic pill part is annoying as usual, but what gets me with this commercial is the cartoon character's whine "Dieting is hard."
Sometimes making choices to eat foods that provide our bodies with just the sustenance they need can be difficult. And sometimes making choices to keep our bodies physically healthy with exercise can be difficult. Sometimes the difficulties come from time constraints. Sometimes it comes from logistical issues. Most of the time though, they come from our own minds.
I'm not going to talk so much about how the mind works, but more in terms of what I've discovered for myself: if I tell myself something is hard, it will be hard. If I tell myself I don't want to exercise, I don't. If I tell myself exercise is boring, it is.
A friend recently described her exercise as enlivening. I likeed that very much - so positive and full of energy, at the same time peaceful.
Lately, I've fallen into the trap of whining about my weight management efforts (or lack thereof). Perhaps that's why that commercial annoys me so much. But seeing how positively my friend referenced her workout session reminded me that I need to really examine my self-talk - not just about me, but also in terms of my weight management. I'll be working on this as I move forward.
Maura, I've seen that commercial, too, and it empowers me to stay the course. If someone believes losing weight is "hard," then they will never succeed in maintenance. I loved this post. You are so right. If we believe something to be true, it is. I have to always examine my own self-talk. I just forget to, sometimes. Thanks for the reminder.
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