I will be posting two parts of a great motivational blog from one of our success stories, Bob. He is so great about providing ideas and suggestions to all of us at Clarian Bariatrics, and I think he has some awesome advice to contribute to our blog readers as well. Look for part two on Friday!
Recently, I had a nice chat with a woman during the Heartland Walk for Health at the Indiana State Fair. Although she’s not a bariatric patient, she’s lost over 50 pounds since December through dieting. However, she’s been feeling a little “down” lately since her weight loss has slowed down. She’s hit the dreaded “WALL.”
I shared my post-surgery experience with her. I’m almost 18 months post-surgery and have lost about 155 pounds. And, I’ve seen at least a couple of plateaus in my 18 months. I told her this is common among those of us who have lost a lot of weight. Then I shared my approach for beating the “blues." I hope it’ll help her and maybe it might help someone else, too.
I call it…CELBRATE YOURSELF!
When you feel a little down because the weight loss has slowed, realize that your REAL goal is not to lose weight…it is to GET FIT. Your weight was just one of the things standing in your way of getting fit.
Then, think of some of the things you can do now, that you couldn’t do before your weight loss… and CONGRATULATE YOURSELF FOR IT! You’ve done a pretty good thing here. You should feel good about it. For example:
Recently, I had a nice chat with a woman during the Heartland Walk for Health at the Indiana State Fair. Although she’s not a bariatric patient, she’s lost over 50 pounds since December through dieting. However, she’s been feeling a little “down” lately since her weight loss has slowed down. She’s hit the dreaded “WALL.”
I shared my post-surgery experience with her. I’m almost 18 months post-surgery and have lost about 155 pounds. And, I’ve seen at least a couple of plateaus in my 18 months. I told her this is common among those of us who have lost a lot of weight. Then I shared my approach for beating the “blues." I hope it’ll help her and maybe it might help someone else, too.
I call it…CELBRATE YOURSELF!
When you feel a little down because the weight loss has slowed, realize that your REAL goal is not to lose weight…it is to GET FIT. Your weight was just one of the things standing in your way of getting fit.
Then, think of some of the things you can do now, that you couldn’t do before your weight loss… and CONGRATULATE YOURSELF FOR IT! You’ve done a pretty good thing here. You should feel good about it. For example:
- I congratulate myself every time I mow the lawn now. A year ago I couldn’t mow the lawn!
- I built my wife a raised garden bed this spring. 1,800 pounds of stones and mortar, then shoveled in 2000 pounds of dirt. But, I built it as much FOR MYSELF as I did for my wife! Every time I look at it now I marvel at what I did. A year ago that wouldn’t have been even a dream!
- I can work around the garden for an entire day now. GOOD JOB! PAT MYSELF ON THE BACK! A year ago… no way I could have done that! (Unfortunately, I’ve discovered the poison ivy in my garden. But, a year ago I didn’t know I had it! WOW!)
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