Off-Plan Eating, Part II

Today's blog is a continuation of what I started yesterday - an exploration (from my perspective) of why people choose to go off plan.  Ready?

Yesterday I wrote about what I believe is probably the number one reason people choose to go off:  focusing on where we've been instead of focusing on where we're going.  If we're focused on where we've been, once the acute pain is lessened, we start to feel like we can give ourselves a bit of slack and off-plan eating usually follows.

However, I think there are other reasons we choose to go off plan, and some of these reasons are a bit more complicated. 

For many of us, being heavy (dare I say obese?) has been a part of our identity for a long time, perhaps for our entire life.  We may hate the fact that this has been part of our identity, but our weight has nevertheless helped to define who we are.  When we start losing weight, especially if we lose a significant amount of weight, we may feel like we are losing ourselves.  In time, we will embrace a new and much healthier us, but in the meantime it can be pretty scary.  People start to comment about how we look and we realize we aren't invisible any more - that's not always comfortable.  It takes time for our heads and our emotions to catch up with our bodies.  However, I've seen individuals return to the "safety" of their former obese self because they found themselves in a body that didn't fit their self-perception.  If this is something you struggle with, it might be helpful for you to work through this issue with a trained professional. 

Others of us have spent our entire lives trying to please everybody else and we are constantly at the bottom of our own list.  We feel selfish needing to eat or not eat certain things, and if we get any push-back from someone close to us, that can be the end of staying on plan.  We may have good intentions and really want to lose weight, but if someone near and dear to us doesn't think a weekend can pass without pizza and beer, we aren't comfortable suggesting doing something else.  If I just described your dilemma, please listen carefully:  it's OK to be selfish when it comes to your health!  This is your life and you have a right to be healthy - nobody has a right to stand in the way.  I've heard people who need to lose over 100 pounds tell me that they can't do this program because their spouse or family "won't eat vegetables."  If your family is used to fattening casseroles and complains about having to eat baked or broiled meat and vegetables, they'll adjust (and be healthier!).  I repeat:  it's OK to be selfish if that's what you need to do to take charge of your health and your life.

There are probably lots of other reasons why people choose to go off plan, but I've briefly touched on the three reasons I see over and over again.  If you recognize yourself in something I've described, hopefully you've been encouraged to take another look at what you're doing and why you're doing it.  Staying on plan is the surest and most direct way to get to your goal, so it's worth the time and effort to identify any potential roadblocks and set up strategies to help you avoid them.

Nobody said it would be easy, but I promise you - it's worth it.  YOU are worth it!   It doesn't matter what's happened up until now, today is a new day and you can choose to start on a new path.  The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)