Weight Loss Program: Do Your Expectations Sabotage Your Success?

When women talk about their biggest obstacles to successful weight and health management, we often hear about hurdles like not enough time or knowledge to prepare healthy meals. Or frequent social occasions that involve food. Or hectic schedules, or stress in their lives, or transitions they’re currently going through. The list goes on. But if you’re like many of us, it’s really none of these. Instead, our biggest obstacle is unrealistic expectations.

All the menu planning, exercising, and positive behavior change in the world will not help the woman who has set goals that are impossible to achieve. Unfortunately, too many of us are that woman – driven, all-or-nothing, compulsive perfectionists. Because of feelings of insecurity or inferiority, we idealize our standards of success and try to mold ourselves into perfect people. The irony is that the worse we feel about ourselves, the more perfectionistic we become and thus set ourselves up for failure.

It’s easy to understand intellectually that healthy eating, physical activity and a balanced lifestyle are key to getting and staying fit. The hard part is ‘doing it’-- dealing emotionally with the slow, ordinary, day-to-day process called moderation. Unrealistic expectations don’t blend well with everyday life. As such, everyday life becomes a failure; each failure undermines confidence in our ability to succeed and creates feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. After a while, it’s easy to stop trying.

Often, we identify family and friends as saboteurs to our efforts to take care of ourselves. We’re angry when we realize that, rightly so. But how often do we fail to identify the biggest saboteur of all: ourselves. We set the unrealistic expectations that cause failure. On the other hand, realistic expectations promote success. Success builds confidence. Confidence creates a feeling of self-efficacy – that we can do it. That makes it easier to maintain a high level of commitment and to accept that changing behaviors takes time and is a less than perfect process.

Resolve to start supporting yourself by being moderate. Learn to live, breathe, dream moderation because moderation helps you keep your life in balance which ultimately leads to success. Know that change is a back-and-forth process that is only perfect in its erratic course. Look at mistakes as learning opportunities. Be kind and gentle to yourself.

©2004 Green Mountain at Fox Run, Ludlow, Vermont.

Marsha J. Hudnall, MS, RD, CD is director of health communications and senior nutritionist at Green Mountain at Fox Run, an all-womens weight loss program. For over 32 years, Green Mountain at Fox Run has developed and refined a life-changing Weight Loss Spa through lifestyle change, exclusively for women. To learn more about Green Mountain at Fox Run, visit us at: http://www.fitwoman.com

The Bible Cure for Weight Loss and Muscle Gain (Bible Cure Ser)

The Bible Cure for Weight Loss and Muscle Gain (Bible Cure Ser) Bestselling BibleCure series from Dr. Don Colbert.
Customer Review: More please!
As a Christian I must confess to my most shamefully partaking in the deadly sin of gluttony - it's those cakes that Margaret makes, they have a very rich sponge with a layer of jam and cream and I can't resist the urge to have 3 or more slices per sitting - in my defence the cakes are prepared in our cross shaped baking tray so I feel that the sin is lessened somewhat by this, but I digress. The sad fact is that I was a fat Christian and something needed to be done. God loves us all equally as his children but I feared that He might love His fat children slightly less and I for one wouldn't blame Him, fat people are not nice to look at. I have been following the advice of The Bible Cure for Weightloss and it worked wonders (like the miracles of Jesus himself) and I am no longer a fat Christian - praise be! I think the makers of this book should extend the idea to fitness videos, maybe with a fellow dressed as Jesus doing the routines. Just an idea.
Customer Review: Great Book! Easy Read! Lots of Info!
This book was short, easy to read, and was so informative and uplifting! What a help! The info put me on the right track for getting God's gift (my body & mind) back into shape!

40-30-30 Fat Burning Nutrition: The Dietary Hormonal Connection to Permanent Weight Loss and Better Health

40-30-30 Fat Burning Nutrition: The Dietary Hormonal Connection to Permanent Weight Loss and Better Health • More than 400,000 copies in print
• Great supermarket shopping lists
• Guides for eating out, fast foods and prepared meals
• Vegetarian meals and recipes

Pioneering weight loss and sports nutritionists Joyce and Gene Daoust were part of the original team that worked with Dr. Barry Sears, developing and testing the "Zone Diet." You'll learn how to eat balanced meals: 40 percent of your calories coming from carbohydrates, 30 percent from protein and 30 percent from fat. You'll begin to burn fat, add muscle and increase your metabolism. Best of all, your body will keep the weight off once you reach your goal.
Customer Review: You Can't Pass This Up !!!
I have finally found a weight loss book that is simple to understand and easy to follow. What I found to be extremely helpful was the Meal Planner Conversion Chart. It's all figured out for you. You choose the plan that suits you best. Since I have been on this diet, all the cravings for junk food have gone. I was someone who lived for sugar and now I do not want any of it. I use to crave coffee in the morning as well but realized I didn't want that wired up feeling & acid stomach. I switched over to a caffeine-free coffee substitute made from soyabeans I found on the net at www. S o y c o f f e e.c om. It so easy for someone to tell you to eat less, but if you are craving bad foods, eventually you will fail. In the first five days I was on this diet all the craving ceased and I was already 8 lbs down. If you were like me and cannot wait for your next slice of cake and at the same time really want to change your lifestyle, Try this. I lost 9 pounds in three weeks. Went from a size 18 jeans to a size 16. This is the only way to go!!!
Customer Review: Zone made easy for regular people!
My doctor started me on this book in June 2004. I am 5'6" and was hitting the scales at my highest ever - 200 lbs. I was having trouble fitting in my size 14/16s and couldn't stand the thought of buying new, bigger clothes. I have always been a woman that "knew" what was good and bad in my refrigerator (I've read just about every article about dieting written), and had trouble fitting in exercise - especially after having two kids. The Zone was outrageously complicated, and so many other diets had huge restrictions on fruit and most veggies, and just didn't seem to make sense from a nutritional standpoint - I couldn't stick with them for long. My cravings, weird rules and the heavy restrictions on almost everything I loved was always a bomb ticking away inside. Then I found 40-30-30.

It is now six months later, I've lost 40 pounds and counting. I have a new way to eat for life! I lost 14 pounds the first month, then seven, then six and the rest has been consistently coming off ever since and - get this - I haven't managed to fit exercise in yet (still trying). I was very religious the first three months, then fell in to more of a settled routine where I am comfortable with the general parameters without refering to the book or my notes very often. And the beauty is, since you are changing the way you build your meals, I can "cheat" - I really consider it more like living your life, not cheating. I had chocolate cake at my son's & daughter's birthday parties one month in to the diet, had a glass of wine WITH my dinner during the second month but it was no big deal! My new way of eating wasn't disrupted, weight loss continued, and I very rarely have any cravings - I find that most of them are psychological anyway (a habitual reaction to stressful situations, etc.). Odd thing is that most of the things that I used to REALLY love (all carbs), don't return the same old satisfaction anymore - just not the same response from my body - that's definitely not something I expected.

I even managed to stay "even" during the difficult holiday weeks (Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's). I thought for sure that my excesses would tip the scale since I seemed to indulge in so much! But here I am, right on track! Looking back, I seem to make enough slightly different choices at all of these events to still maintain some balance (like eating shrimp cocktail along with some chip & dip instead of a plate of straight carbs).

Some of the key things for me were:
1) The ability to substitute my ZonePerfect bars (Fudge Graham are best) for up to two meals a day - really a lifesaver when you're on the go at work and with the family and it's critical that you not skip your meals.
2) There are really quick & easy meals that fit in to a life that was used to all of the convenience foods.
3) Please, those of you reading those "the cost of good food is so high!" reviews... have you added up the cost of all of your sodas, chips, ice cream, etc., lately? Even with the cost of fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats, I'm still spending less.
4) New, clear approaches to fast food and restaurant eating is outlined - I even check the websites of different companies to makes sure my picks keep my carbs, protein & fat in balance - it would surprise you what some of the "healthy" items add up to!
5) I have almost completely eliminated hydrogenated oil and aspartame from my diet - not easy considering they're in darn near everything these days! (I'm not sure if that came from my doctor or the book.)
6) First meal within one hour of getting up, last one four hours before bed.

Good luck! It's a great book, clearly and simply written, and it's been a lifesaver for me!

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