Have you ever felt like you were on one of those little circular gerbil treadmill wheels when it comes to your weight – your weight yo yoing up and down? Reducing and regaining the same three to five pounds over and over again. I’ve certainly been there and done that. Yo yoers are excellent dieters when you consider how much weight we have trimmed over time. How can you change directions? It is so frustrating — but that is what it feels like.
Rather than focusing on what it feels like, instead, won’t you notice? “What does the treadmill look like?” “How wide is it?” ” What do you see to your left when you are running on it?” ” What do you see to your right when you are on it?” ” What is in front of you?” ” What is behind you?” “What do you Hear?” “Squeak, Squeak, Squeak!” That squeaking is so annoying.
“Now, “What do you need to do to get off of it?”
I said, “Step off” and then my coach said in the RIGHT direction. Because it is important that you step off in the right direction in order to do it the right way to get onto the right path to go to the right place to get the right results for you. The right path takes you in the right direction to the Right result for you.
Geraldine, my little inner child nemesis, claims, “I like running on the treadmill especially when I can play with the gerbil.” I said, “I don’t.” She is in timeout right now for getting us a bowl of ice cream. She taunts me by saying, I” don’t care I wanted it.” To her it was worth it to me it’s not. I responded, “That is not the Right way or the right direction or the right path to reduce weight.” At three years old she is more interested in her way than the Right way but I tell her this will change as she grows up. My three year old inner child, Geraldine, wants immediate gratification whereas I want the delayed gratification of attaining my ideal weight. Geraldine wants candy now and I want to see a lower weight on my scale tomorrow morning.
You might not see how this works yet, but you will once you experience it and then you will be amazed at what you can do with just a few words. That’s right, you may not yet understand this but you will when you practice it.
What result would you like to have instead of yo yoing? “What is yo yoing like for you?” “What kind of (fill in the blank – it maybe a treadmill or it may be like being behind a door or it may be like a mountain) is that?” “What does it look like?” “How wide is it, how tall?” “What is to the left of it and to the right of it?” “What is in front of it?” “What is behind it?” “What do you hear?” “Can you step off the yo yoing path?” “Can you go down rather than up the mountain? Change direction in the right way. Go to the right. Get down the right path”
Won’t you let me know what yo yoing is like for you? I wouldn’t tell you to reduce your weight, because you’re the only one who’ll be able to recognize just how much value that will add to your life.
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Emotional ride. That’s what yo yoing feels like to me. Feeling depressed, eating more, than feeling worst because of the eating more so eating even more….. Feeling positve. Everything is upbeat. Eating well, exercising regularly… Oops, bad day, bad news, bad moment, feeling in a slump. Here I go, not eating well and not exersising. It’s so easy for me to let my emotions guide my actions. I’m like a ticking timebomb just waiting to revert to even worst habits than my old ones.
In the future, I will not let myself be guided by my emotions. Feelings come and go. I need to focus on the true meaning of these feelings. The sadness might be gone within a few hours, the guilting feeling of having binged just lingers on. Happy moments far overshadow the sad ones.
Focus will be my moto. Focus on the happy!
anir
Anir,
Thank you for your nice note. For me cultivating a healthy eating life style is a habit established over time. I have found that sometimes I fall down but just as when as a toddle I was learning to walk , I get up and continue taking steps toward my goal. This following intention setting process has helped me strengthen my resolve to eat moderately and follow a healthy diet. This process was developed by Kris Hallbom and she gave me permission to share it. I find it helpful to do this each morning. Won’t you visit my website at kathleenrodman.com for additional useful ideas.
Think of the context or situation about which you’d like to set your intent.
Consider the people you will be interacting with in that situation.
Set an intent for yourself in terms of the experience that you want to have in the situation, imagine the state of mind that you would like to have.
Set an intent for the kind of interaction you would like to have with the other people who will also be involved in the situaltion.
Create a mental movie of what you will be like in that future situation.
What are you experiencing? What are you hearing?
What are you saying to yourself?
What are you seeing and what are you feeling?
Fully imagine yourself in that future situation right now.
Best of luck Anir. Take good care of yourself