by Maria's Last Diet
Everyone, but everyone with weight to lose always runs up against a weight problem. Beware of weight problems. They can cause serious discouragement, outright avoidance, and premature quitting.
A common weight problem is not being able to get started on a weight loss regimen. There’s procrastination, which of course is put off for tomorrow what you should be doing today. There’s ambivalence, which is should I or shouldn’t I, and you’re stuck somewhere in the middle. There’s trying not to even think about starting because you don’t want to face what it will take for you to lose weight.
How are you going to solve the problem of not getting started? Well, you could force yourself to start. Or you might plunge right in without giving it a second thought. This is the act before you have a chance to think about it solution. Maybe you try to bribe yourself: “If I start, I’ll reward myself with __________.” You could also turn to punishing yourself if you don’t get started.
If you were to use psychology to solve the weight problem of not getting started, what might you do? Here’s one psychological approach. Since getting started to do something about your weight is the problem you’re facing, why not learn more about the problem you’re having. You could, for instance, set up a pros and cons chart, one with two pros and two cons. The first set of pros and cons would be pros for losing weight and cons for not losing weight. This is the usual form pros and cons take. The second set of pros and cons would be pros for NOT losing weight and cons for Losing Weight. In other words, positives for NOT losing weight and negatives for Losing Weight. If you pay careful attention to this second set of pros and cons, you will pin down exactly what it is that keeps you from starting.
The solution to not starting will now be about focusing your effort on doing something about this second set of pros and cons. Gone will be the need to force yourself to start, bribe yourself, break your ambivalence, and exact punishment if you don’t get started. Psychology is not only the smarter way to go about solving the weight problem of not starting. It is also the best way to get to the heart of your weight problem so you can solve it and move on.