Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Awesome takes Time

Remember back when you were a kid and the school year (or summer, for that matter) lasted forever?  And as we age, the world speeds up -- except when you're trying to lose weight.  Then time seems to drag, right?

We live in a fast world.  I now expect people to answer their phone in less than 4 rings -- or it should go to voicemail.  The computer should take no longer than 20 seconds to boot up.  I'm great with 10 second commercials.  I love the Twitter bits at 140 characters or less.  That's what we are starting to think is normal.

And yet, our bodies are not 2.0 anything.  Our biological processes are from a different era.  Things take time and there isn't an app to speed things up.

This is one reason people give up on a mindful path to weight loss.  I won't promise (or even encourage) you that you will drop 2 dress sizes in a week.  Maybe you will lose 2 pounds ... maybe.  Losing weight you can actual keep off really comes down to changing your habits -- and that takes time.

It takes time to get good at walking through the break room without checking out what grad party left overs are sitting on the table.

It takes time to consistently taste the first 4 bites of every meal you eat. 

It takes time to practice all of the new habits that are going to replace the habits of eating without giving a thought to if you're even hungry.  And to be able to replace the idea of "how much can I eat and still feel good about myself" to "how little can I eat and feel great about my eating experience".

How much time is it going to take?  Well....consider how long you think it's going to take to realistically make these habit changes.....then times it by 4.

Depressing??

I don't think so -- because you will be losing weight the whole time --which feels good and inspires you to keep going.  ---Which is good because this isn't a solution with an end point.  There will always need to be tweaks and adjustments.  The goal is for you to fully integrate these behaviors into your vision of who you are.  And that is no small (or quick) task.

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