We’ve all said this before. “I’ll start eating better after………..”
You can finish the sentence with way too many options. For instance after my birthday, after Christmas, after the office party, after I get dumbbells, my holidays, next Monday…(Or never???)
The list can be endless.
I wonder why we put off things we know should be done right now. Like already this afternoon.
I’ve noticed that many who wait for a specific time are usually in the ‘all or nothing’ group. . The “I must do this perfectly or not at all” camp.
Krista Scott-Dixon PhD from Precision Nutrition mentioned:
“Perfectionism and avoidance serve as strong armour against potential embarrassment, criticism, and failure. But sadly it also keeps us from thriving, growing and becoming the person we know we have the potential to be.”
Reality Check: in life, there is no perfect time because there will always be Christmas, office parties, holidays, Saturday nights, and goodness knows what.
There’s no getting away from it.
Although there are many more, here is a short list of reasons why you may wish to stop procrastinating on this subject.
1) Possible Health Problems
We all know that being overweight can cause various health problems.
But what about if you are feeling perfectly healthy even though you are overweight? Is there any real reason why you should start eating better and lose weight already now?
Yes, I truly believe you should at least consider it.
Why?
One never knows what might be happening in our bodies behind the scenes. There could be a very slow progression of a weight-related issue that you’re not aware of.
You might feel fine.
Maybe a little tired by the afternoon. Isn’t everyone?
And yet….the next day your doctor announces that your blood test shows you are now pre-diabetic. But you had no idea at all.
Where did that come from? Nobody in your close family circle has diabetes.
The problem is that once a health issue related to your diet has presented itself, it is more difficult to set things right.
👉 Therefore, start eating better now so you don’t have to work at correcting two different things.
The excess weight and your new health problem.
2) The Theory of Set Point Weight
Although there’s no scientific proof of a Set Point Weight, I have seen this happen many times over during my 40 years of being a weight loss coach.
We already know that when we lose weight our metabolism slows, our hunger hormones increase and our satiety hormones decrease. There is no question about this.
But for some peculiar reason (and I do admit that I have no plausible answer for it) our body fights against letting go of a particular magic number on the scales.
It really wants to remain there or wants to get back to it.
It is estimated that the average person’s set point weight can vary between 10 to 20 lbs. However, I have also noticed smaller ranges. Namely about 4-6 pounds up and down.
Often it is really difficult to get lower than that set weight. And once we do, BOOM it quickly goes back up to where it was comfortably sitting for months, if not years.
It’s as if there is some type of ‘groove’ where it needs/wants to be.
Therefore, if there is any such thing, don’t create the wrong set point for yourself.
Meaning: don’t stay too long in your excess weight range. It could well be that your body falls in love with being there and will want to keep returning to it.
3) Lack of self-confidence
This is definitely NOT true for every overweight person. I know many fabulous outgoing and confident people who are perfectly happy to remain just as they are. And that is how it should be.
After all, our weight does not in any way determine our worth.
But what about those of us who would feel more confident within ourselves if we were at a healthier weight?
When we don’t feel quite right because last year’s clothes are too tight, many of us stress. Not only that, we sometimes withdraw and become shier. Sometimes being overweight can dominate the narrative in our heads.
And that should not go on for too long. Negative self-talk and dislike of our body aren’t beneficial for our emotional well-being.
Therefore the solution is to start eating better right now. ❤
There’s no good reason to follow the crowd who prefers starting to eat better on Mondays, New Year’s Day, on the 1st day of the month or after a holiday.
The University of Pennsylvania did a deep dive into this and noticed that the ‘fresh start’ syndrome is very strong.
Study co-author Jason Riis, a visiting professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania said: “On certain days, called temporal landmarks, you just have a different view of yourself. You become more forward-looking.”
The other temporal landmarks include the above days I mentioned like your birthday and New Year’s Day etc.