Weight Loss: Lose The Guilt To Lose Weight

Here is something that you never hear anyone talk about when it comes to weight loss. That is, how our emotions come into play when we attempt to lose weight, or to achieve any goal for that matter.

For the longest period of time I thought that guilt way a non-productive emotion. Just recently I came to realize how wrong I was. Guilt is much more than non-productive, it is counter productive. So much so that it prevents us from obtaining our goals, in this case, losing weight.

Naturally, you ask yourself how this works. It is quite simple really. Guilt is the mechanism that allows us to bind together two contradictory thoughts, beliefs, desires or actions.

Here is a simple example, one pertaining to your weight loss program. Let us assume for a moment that you are overweight. It is on your mind a great deal of the time. You are unhappy with this condition. As a matter of fact, it plagues you. It is on your mind constantly and you absolutely plan to do something about it. Maybe you are even in the process of dieting and exercising right now. Okay. So you have had a long, frustrating day. There is a pint of chocolate ice cream with your name on it in the freezer. You know in your heart that eating it will be counter productive. Jeez, it is worse than that. No only will it delay your weight loss, it will actually put weight on your thighs. What do you do? You guessed it. You eat the pint of ice cream.

What is the mechanism that allows this to happen? What is it that allows you to know for certain that what you are doing is against your own best interests and you do it anyway? Duh, it is guilt. Guilt is the means that allows us to bind these absolutely, contradictory actions together. We are dieting (or plan on dieting) and eating ice cream at the same time. Not to beat a dead horse, but what makes this alright in our minds and emotions. Guilt.

By this time you are saying to yourself, do not be silly. This is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. Well, stop and think about this for a few minutes. Find other examples in your life where this can apply. You will discover that it is no so silly after all.

When you come to the realization that this may in fact be true, you should be asking yourself what can be done about it. The easy answer, on the face of it, is to just stop feeling guilty. Easier said than done.

You see, guilt has a small army of allies. This army of allies only strengthen the power of guilt. These allies include, but are not limited to, low self esteem, self pity and a general negative outlook on life.

By now, the picture is beginning to look hopeless. Not so. The fact of the matter is that there are a number of people who lose weight every single day. What is it that they do to successfully lose weight? What is it that I can do to duplicate their success?

The single, most important and powerful thing that you can do is to set your goal. When you establish this goal it has to be set in stone. Ghandi use to talk about taking a personal vow. I take this to mean to establish your goal at the highest and deepest mental and emotional levels. When you do this then every action that you take will contribute to arriving at your goal. That includes the slips and missteps.

Anyway, there you have it, something to think about. If you have tried to diet and lose weight in the past, and were unsuccessful, perhaps you have gained some insight as to why. With some self reflection perhaps your next attempt will be your last.