Ever think your scale MUST be broken because that couldn’t possibly be your real weight??? If so, this guest post by Big Sky Trainer Alex Titarenko is for you!
Most of us know exactly what we should be doing, yet we don’t do it! Eat more broccoli, get more sleep, drink more water, drink less alcohol, the list goes on and on. Then why don’t we do those things? What’s worse is that we rationalize these bad actions and say, “it’s okay”, when deep down we know it’s not. This is when we are flat out lying to ourselves and it’s a big reason why most people can’t lose weight.
Here are some scenarios of when you might be dishonest with yourself:
You walk by the kitchen counter and grab a handful of goldfish and think, “it’s just a handful.”
You take a bite of someone’s cheesecake and think, “it’s just one bite.”
You had a rough day and decide to pour yourself a glass of wine thinking, “I deserve this and maybe some cheese too. Just a small piece.”
Later that weekend you go out and have that juicy cheeseburger you’ve been craving all week as a “cheat meal”.
You give up on your diet that weekend and go out to dinner, “I’ll start my diet next week” you say.
You feel your clothes getting tighter and your knee starts to bother you. You think you may have gained weight, but avoid the scale because you don’t want to face the number.
You refuse to check the nutrition label on the back of the brownie mix because it will surely ruin the deliciousness.
Later you’re changing your clothes and you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. You are so horrified you turn around, “stupid mirror” you say.
If any of these scenarios sound like you, keep reading –
If you’ve had a slew of failed diet attempts in the past and feel compelled to try again, great! But what makes this time different? Is it really that special shake, secret vitamin, or scientifically proven meal replacement that’s going to make the difference? Or do you have to be different? Most people miss dealing with the biggest obstacle in their weight loss journey; themselves.
We avoid admitting to our faults. Our lack of commitment, lack of accountability, lack of self-control, poor sleeping habits that make us lazy, all contribute to not accomplishing our weight loss goals. These issues are hard to deal with. It’s so much easier to look the other way ot try out the new diet fad. It’s scary to deal with our own shortcomings and faults, but it’s almost always exactly what’s necessary to achieve success in everything else, including weight loss. This is why being honest with yourself is the best diet strategy.
As psychologist, Jordan Peterson would say:
“What’s embedded in everything that you’re afraid of? Absolutely everything that you need to find. Run from what you’re afraid of, run from exactly what you need to find.”
Let’s revisit some of the scenarios mentioned before and ask some questions about them that will help you be honest with yourself:
You walk by the kitchen counter and grab a handful of goldfish and think, “it’s just a handful.”
You may think it’s just a handful, but it’s much more. You just grabbed 300 calories of goldfish that put you over the edge for that day and now you won’t lose weight or worse, you’ll gain it.
You take a bite of someone’s cheesecake and think, “it’s just one bite.”
A lot of the time one bite turns into two and two turns into eating the whole slice. Once slice of cheesecake can have up to 1500 calories (some people’s total allotted calorie count for the day).
You had a rough day and decide to pour yourself a glass of wine thinking, “I deserve this and maybe some cheese too. Just a small piece.”
Do you deserve it? Did you also deserve all of those bottles of wine that got you to the weight you are at now? Is this potentially the beginning of the end for your diet? Did your other failed diet attempts start with the words, “I deserve this” too?
Later that weekend you go out and have that juicy cheeseburger you’ve been craving all week as a “cheat meal”.
A cheeseburger and fries can contain up to 2000 calories in one sitting. That will not only ruin your weight loss for today, but potentially ruin your weight loss from yesterday and maybe tomorrow too.
You give up on your diet that weekend and go out to dinner, “I’ll start my diet next week” you say.
Didn’t you say this last month? And maybe a few months ago too? Why is this a recurring pattern?
You feel your clothes getting tighter and your knee starts to bother you. You think you may have gained weight, but avoid the scale because you don’t want to face the number.
The number on the scale is your relationship to gravity and a fact of reality. Why does a number bother you so much? What’s your relationship to it? Why are you avoiding it? Is it depressing or scary? Why?
You refuse to check the nutrition label on the back of the brownie mix because it will surely ruin the deliciousness.
Didn’t you tell yourself you want to lose weight? Why does the truth of reading calories ruin a meal experience for you? Remember, like the number on the scale, calories are just facts. They are a part of reality. Why are you avoiding reality?
Later you’re changing your clothes and you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. You are so horrified you turn around, “stupid mirror” you say.
There you go again, questioning reality itself. In this case, reality is simply giving you a reflection of your life choices. What are you going to do about it?
Conclusion
I used the mirror scenario last because it’s how some people operate. Life will give you feedback on what you do and don’t do. Some choose to ignore what’s wrong and go distract themselves with something else. But if you do that, you’re essentially just lying to yourself. By the time you decide to deal with your faults, the problem that you were ignoring grow so large that it either becomes too large to deal with or it creates problems everywhere else. It’s much better to learn how to be honest with yourself from the very beginning, when those little problems are still manageable.
In the children’s book, There’s No Such Thing As A Dragon, a little dragon about the size of a cat appears in a little boy’s bedroom. He shows his mom, but she says, “there’s no dragon. There’s no such thing as dragons.” 
The next day the dragon grows bigger to the size of a horse and starts eating the food off the kitchen table and breaking things with its tail. Once again, the mom says, “there’s no such thing as dragons.” Seemingly ignoring what’s going on. Later, the dragon gets so big that it’s head is sticking out the window on one end of the house and the tail out the other end. The dragon manages to lift the entire house up and starts walking down the street with the house on its back. The father is driving and sees his house walking down the street. Just before the dragon grows so big that he is able to burst out of the house the parents finally notice the dragon and it shrinks back down to the size of a cat.
The parents, now looking at this tiny dragon say, “what did you think it wanted? Why was it growing so much?”
The boy says, “I’m not sure. Maybe it just wanted to be noticed.”
Don’t let your weight become the “dragon” in this story. Instead of putting off getting started, let us help you reach your goals!
Sign up for our 10-Day FREE Personal Training Experience!
Members and Non-Members Welcome. Click HERE to get started!
Better Gyms. Better Workouts. Better RESULTS!
Big Sky Trainer Alex Titarenko is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, NESTA Certified Lifestyle & Weight Management Specialist. Fitness, nutrition & self development enthusiast… who occasionally likes to enjoy a good slice of pizza.
