Absolutely, but you have to manage your weight within that. Work with the hand you've been dealt; for example, being big-boned is no excuse for being 100 pounds overweight. Accept that you have some extra challenges — and that you'll probably never be stick-thin.
2. What if medication makes me gain weight?
Some people truly have a medical reason for weight gain. If you have to take medication, or if you have a biological disorder that causes you to do that, the best you can do is manage it. Learn to be at peace with it.
3. What about "magic" diets that promise quick results?
Make no mistake — the billion-dollar diet industry tells you what you want to hear. But losing weight is hard work, every minute of every day. How hard are you willing to work? Do it right once, and you'll reach your goals much quicker than "seven pounds in seven days."
4. My friend lost weight; why didn't her strategy work for me?
Everyone has different challenges, different resources and different gifts. Consequently, people must develop different strategies to accommodate their schedules. Find out what gives you results — and don't quit if it doesn't seem apparent right away.
5. What if I just really like food?
Just about everybody likes the taste of food, but you have to develop the maturity to balance your intake. Control the quality and the amount of what you eat.
6. I like everything about myself; I just don't like the fat.
Then you don't feel 100 percent good about yourself. You can't be completely happy with yourself unless you're happy about everything that makes you who you are.
7. I can't seem to get my appetite in check. What's wrong?
If you're overweight, then you're out of control. That's not a natural place to be. You're out of control with your impulses, your life or your schedule. Evaluate your behaviors, anticipate your personal challenges and restore balance.
8. Why do I keep slipping into my old habits?
You can't break habits without forming new ones. If you take something out of your life, there's a void. And when there's a void, it's easy to drift back to what you used to do. You need to replace the bad habit with new, incompatible behavior that will crowd the bad behavior out.
9. How can I heal poor body image?
Don't let low self-esteem be an excuse to not live your best life. Get over it! Stand up and use the gifts you have. Require more of yourself than what you have been requiring. Just because you aren't proud of yourself every minute doesn't mean that you don't get to participate in life. Get specific and define what low self-esteem means to you. Then, behave your way to success.
10. I've always dealt with difficulties using food, but now I've solved my problems. Why am I still fat?
You're holding on to the response that you associated with your problems. Although the problem has been solved, the behavior — in this case, overeating — remains. When you solve a problem in your life, you must also stop "dealing" with it in negative ways.
Follow these five steps to create a strategy for your weight loss goal.
1. Set a very specific goal.
Remember that losing weight requires a change in thought and behavior, so set goals for your emotions and weight.
Don't just set vague goals like, "I want to lose some weight." Be specific: How much weight do you want to lose? How do you want to feel? Close your eyes and visualize yourself after you've reached those goals. Use this visualization to feel commitment and inner strength.
2. Work out a very specific strategy.
Will power doesn't work! To lose weight and keep it off, you must have a strategy.
Plan ahead: Get rid of your expandable clothes, stay away from fast food, and keep healthy food in your pantry.
3. Identify small, measurable steps.
Implement steps that will fit your lifestyle, not somebody else's.
Be sure to move toward a positive goal, not just away from being fat. Every step you take will bring you closer to being who you want to be.
4. Create a healthy, realistic timeline.
Where will you be in a month? six months? a year? Fit your goals to your calendar, and stick to it.
Don't expect to see huge results overnight; take the time to change your lifestyle, and you'll change your weight.
5. Create meaningful monitoring and accountability
If you know you have to report your progress to someone, you'll be more likely to stick with your plan.
"Go public" with somebody you trust. Find support when you need it, and celebrate your victories!
Stay Motivated
Nobody ever said that losing weight would be easy. Staying motivated can be hard work, but it isn't impossible. Accept that you will hit a motivational plateau. At first, losing weight and exercising is exciting and fun. After time, many people lose their motivation. The key to motivation is figuring out how to keep going, even when you don't feel like doing so.
Don't rely on willpower—it simply doesn't work. Willpower is driven by emotions, which can be fickle. Emotions landed you into a weight problem, but they won't get you out of it.
Give yourself permission to say, "I don't have to want to do this all the time." By acknowledging that, you can respond to it accordingly.
Avoid Danger Zones
You can't be overweight unless you have a lifestyle to support it. Danger zones can be places, times, or moments: Places: Clean up your kitchen pantry. You can't eat unhealthy food if it's not there. Avoid fast-food restaurants and other places that don't go along with your goals.
Times: Change your routine. If you know you tend to eat junk food in the afternoon, come up with an incompatible behavior during the afternoon. Do something different.
Moments: When you get an impulse to eat, and you're standing in front of food, fight it. Leave the room, go outside, do whatever it takes. The impulse will pass. Fight the urges moment by moment.
Stick to the Plan - Be Accountable and Reward yourself!
Be Accountable
Dr. Phil says that when others are monitoring your weight loss goals, you'll stick to your plan. Without external monitoring, you'll let yourself off the hook.
Find a buddy. Oprah exercises with her Spa Girls, and you can start your own group, too.
Regularly post your weight on a chart. Use your actual weight, or if numbers are intimidating, use bars to represent each pound.
You can join Dr. Phil's ten-week program and be accountable to thousands of other people.
Remember, it's your job to change your lifestyle; it's your buddy's job to help. Only you are responsible for your weight loss.
Reward Yourself
When you first begin to lose weight, the pounds seem to drop off. The rewards are obvious. After time, though, it takes longer to see visible results because your body's rate of loss diminishes. This is normal, but often frustrating. Find another "currency" for rewarding yourself. Acknowledge your self-mastery and take pride in how you've taken control of your life. You used to be controlled by the food, but now you control the food.
The next year will go by whether you want it to or not. You will weigh either more or less, but you won't weigh the same. Make the choices that lead you to your goal.
Ask yourself these questions: How will I look when I lose the weight?
How will I feel when I walk into a room not tugging on my clothes, trying to cover up what won't fit?
How will I feel when I present myself physically and socially?
What's it going to mean to me when I look at the last year and say that I required more of myself?
When you know the answers, that vision will come into focus. You have to project ahead to stay on track.
After you've reached your weight loss goal, don't let go of your new good habits. Develop a maintenance plan and incorporate it into your life.
Thank you BA! These are some really motivating words.
Though Phil has annoyed me a few times in the past on the show, about weightloss and other issues...he does make very good points. He speaks the truth, nomatter how hard it hurts.
I LOVE the "It's up to you" message! These are great motivational words that really inspire me! I also love the concept mentioned in another section that talked about visualizing yourself as you want to be. . .I've really started doing that, and it really helps when I'm huffing and puffing on the treadmill!
OH GIRLS visit the www.virtualmodel.com it ais a fun site and well you can certaily picture what you will look like when youget to goal!!! OOOOHHHHH basby I will be sooooo HOT!!!!
Thanks very much, BA, but I just didn't have the time. I am going to do the 10 week challange as well. I figgure that a little more help can't hurt, lol.
This is all GREAT stuff, BA!! Thanks so much for taking the time to put this all on here Dr. Phil is such a straight-talker.... Nobody else can make your life perfect... You have to make those steps yourself....
Dr. Phil Stuff - This is GOOD!
we have to encourage/support/help each other! If you find something that helps YOU share it!!
