Thursday, March 01, 2007

The Problem with Losing Weight

As I've mentioned previously over the past several months I have diligently been working on the Your Naked Nutrition Guide - A results driven all encompassing manual for nutritional success. I have also included in this a couple chapters at the beginning on mindset, planning, and goal setting. In this section I pose the question

"What are the negatives of achieving your goal?"

Have you ever thought of this? Over the past couple months I've dropped a bunch of extra weight. Living the life of a graduate student had been taking its toll on my physique (I know excuses, excuses). As a result a good bunch of my clothes don't fit. My pants sag off my waist, I need new belts, and my button down shirts need to be tapered...this isn't something that most people consider.

What about birthdays? It seems like we are always having mini birthday parties in the lab. This means cake. It is awkward refusing birthday cake at a party, standing there drinking water while everyone else enjoys the fluffy sugar laced baked goods. It makes you sort of an outcast...have you considered having to deal with these social situations?

What about drinking? An all to common occurrence is getting a drink on Friday after work. What will you do in these situations? Say no and not attend? Does that make you antisocial? Will you go but not drink and just have a diet coke instead? That's fine but be prepared to be on the receiving end of some ribbings from your buddies.

Most of the time we talk about food and training....but learning to deal with social pressures and stick to your plan regardless of the birthday parties, happy hours, and telling the waitress exactly how you what your food prepared ("Hold the fries, double the steamed vegetables, and I'll have the dressing on the side.") is extremely important. This can be the hardest part for many people.

So don't forget to look at the whole picture. What is it really going to cost to reach your goals?


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