D
uring a conversation
with a potential patient
for the medical weight
loss center I work for, she asked,
“How do I know I’m ready? I’m
scared to death, but I need to do
something.”
I thought that was a great ques-
tion. Change is hard. Really
hard. Your, unhealthy habits are
like a well-worn T-shirt that’s
starting to show wear and really
needs to be thrown away, but
you just can’t bear to part with it
because it’s so comfortable. And
truthfully, you’re not sure you’re
even able to change. You don’t
know where to start.
Your comfort zone is such a cozy
place, filled with old friends like
chocolate, macaroni and cheese,
or ice cream - decadent foods
and treats that give your brain a
sugar rush (yes, the carbs in mac
and cheese turn into sugar in
your bloodstream) and make you
feel better for a while. But then
you crash and crave more. It’s a
vicious cycle.
But change doesn’t happen when
you’re comfortable. It happens
when you’re uncomfortable.
When you’ve had enough and
know that you NEED to do
something, or you’ll never feel
good again. I know – I’ve been
there.
Eventually you get to that place.
That dark place where you look
in the mirror or at a photo some-
one took of you at an event and
posted on Facebook, and sud-
denly see how big you’ve gotten.
Photos are like that – they tell
the truth. You avoid the camera
like the plague because you feel
fat and ugly and don’t want to
face it. You want to remain invis-
ible, because you hate how you
look.
Your feet hurt. Your knees hurt.
Your back hurts. Everything
hurts. Your clothes have been
getting tight, so you go to the
next size up you have stashed in
your closet that you’ve kept just
in case you need them again. You
have about 5 sets of various sizes
that you’ve been over the years.
You sit down to tie your shoes
and you’re out of breath because
you have this big belly in the way
that cuts off your oxygen and
you feel like a beached whale.
You look down at your feet when
standing and can’t see them. You
can only see that gut in the way.
You can’t cross your legs because
they’re too fat.
You sit at a picnic table and
secretly worry that if someone
else sits next to you, the whole
table will tip over. You sit in a
camping chair and wonder how
close you are to the 250 pound
limit, afraid you’ll break it and
be embarrassed in front of oth-
ers. You wonder if the seat belt in
the plane seat will fit you. Your
kids will ask you to go on a roller
coaster ride with them, but you
say no because you’re afraid you
won’t fit in the seat.
I’ve been in that place and it’s no
fun. But there IS hope. You CAN
get out of that place. You just
have to feel bad enough to want
to do something about it. You
have to stand up for your Self
(yes, I capitalized that on pur-
pose) and know that you need to
do whatever it takes to honor the
body that you’ve been given and
set a good example for your chil-
dren. You can see they’re starting
to follow in your footsteps, and
you don’t want that to happen.
You have to get selfish and truly
want to make a change. A change
for YOU. Not anyone else. You
need to take care of YOU, so you
can be available and ready to
care for others. You can’t take
care of your family when you’re
not well yourself. I like to use
the example of when the flight
attendant is giving the pre-flight
instructions on how to use the
oxygen mask. He/she tells you to
put your oxygen mask on first,
before you help others. Why?
Because you can’t help others if
you’re dead. Too harsh? Well, I
like to tell it how it is. Sometimes
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