FIVE PHASES of LOSING WEIGHT

I was listening to a podcast this week that honestly….was totally unrelated to health, nutrition, or losing weight.

It was actually talking about marketing and business.

But the “phases” the podcaster described related SO WELL to the weight loss journey that I decided to write about them on my blog.

The first phase she described was called Uninformed Optimism, or “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know”. And it makes sense. You see the pictures and reels on social media of influencers who have lost weight, friends or family who have lost weight, fitness and weight loss specialists who are there to help you lose weight, and you think, “I can do this. They did it. The food looks good. The workout outfits are super cute. They’re making it look so easy!”

So you jump in. Join a new program, join the gym, start following a new diet.

And then you find out that this new lifestyle isn’t what you thought it was going to be. This is phase two, which the podcaster described as Informed Pessimism. “Wait, you want me in the gym how many days per week? Counting macros, what? No bread, pasta, or processed foods at all?!”

This is when you find out that your kids won’t eat the whole wheat pasta or zoodles because they look weird, taste weird, and have a weird texture. So that means you have to make separate meals for you to stick with the diet, or you have to make a million modifications to make the recipes work for everyone. The time you thought you had to go to the gym has been eaten up by your kids’ extracurricular activities. And you discover that what SEEMED to be so simple and easy is actually a LOT more complicated than you thought it would be.

Enter The River of Misery, or The Valley of Despair. This is where 85% of people who start a new weight loss journey give up. You went into their new program, new fitness routine, or new diet thinking this is going to be THE ONE to turn things around, and discovered that what was promised would be so easy is, in reality, so HARD. It is HARD to change your habits and your lifestyle to lose weight and keep it off. If it were easy, everyone would have been doing it already. Two-thirds of the adult population in our nation wouldn’t be overweight or obese.

So, you’re in The River of Misery. You’re not really following the program, fitness routine, or diet anymore. The scale is creeping back up. Your clothes are fitting tighter again. You feel like you’ve wasted a lot of time, money, and effort on something that didn’t work.

So, if this program/routine/diet wasn’t the right one, then what is? Now you’re on the look out for another new weight loss program that will deliver the results you want.

Rinse and repeat.

But can I let you in on a little secret?

When you find yourself in The River of Misery, what no one probably told you is that it’s supposed to be hard.

It’s completely normal for the process of CHANGING YOUR HABITS and LIFESTYLE to be HARD. When you don’t have the gym routine and healthy eating built into your everyday life already, it’s HARD to make those adjustments – especially when you are a busy mom!

This is why it’s important to do three things: EXPECT it to be hard until you adjust and find what works for you; EXPERIMENT with what works for you and your family, and what doesn’t; WORK ON YOUR MINDSET, get support and accountability, or get coaching for all three.

Expecting it to be hard from the beginning keeps you grounded and level-headed as you go through the change process. Experimenting with what works and what doesn’t will keep you out of the “All or Nothing” mentality. Working on your mindset, having a support system and accountability, or having a coach who helps you with all of the above will help you stay grounded and bounce back from any challenges or obstacles you will face while in The Valley of Despair/River of Misery.

Now comes phase four (if you have followed the three steps of Expecting it to be Hard, Experimenting with What Works, and Getting Help with Mindset, Support/Accountability, or Coaching), and that is Informed Optimism.

You KNOW it’s hard. You’re counting on it and doing it anyway. You’ve been experimenting and found a few things that are definitely working. You’ve been working on your mindset and have support/accountability (either on your own or with a coach).

You are getting the little wins each day and are finally optimistic that you CAN do this after all. It’s still hard, but now you’re gaining confidence with each win; and those wins are leading to new habits; and those habits are leading to lifestyle changes.

And now there is phase five, which is Achievement. Yay! You’ve done it. The habits are established. The lifestyle changes have occurred. You have lost weight or are continuing to lose weight. You didn’t give up. You stuck with it, and your hard work has paid off!

This doesn’t mean the work is over. There will be plateaus. There will be stalls. Your goals will change and adjust as you continue on your journey. The most important thing to remember in all this is that you’ve done this! And you can continue. You’ve been through the first three phases and made it to the other side.

And if you need help working your way through the phases, Book a Free Consultation with me.