change

Admit it, you have not changed the number listed as your weight on your driver’s license since you were 16. It probably advertises a number that would be completely inappropriate for an adult. Most people never make the effort to update the weight listed on their driver’s license out of embarrassment or feeling like they have a positive advertisement, or to remember just how small we once were.

My friend Suzi stated on Twitter that she had not changed the number on her driver’s license when she had gained weight, not out of embarrassment but because she had hoped she would get back to that weight. She announced this on Twitter because she was celebrating that as she went to renew her driver’s license she is back at that weight.

How do you jump the hurdle of self-doubt? If you do not believe a goal is achievable it will appear to be a wall rather than a hurdle. For my friend staying away from fast food seemed to be an impossibility. Fast food is readily available, easy, and relatively inexpensive. To avoid it might require him to spend more, drive further, learn to cook, or depend on others. It might also require some advanced planning to purchase and prepare food before one wants to eat. Beyond all that is the familiarity and comfort derived from such options.

He could have resolved one day not to eat fast food ever again, looked up several new healthy recipes, gone to the grocery and bought all the ingredients; however, my guess is that after a week or so he would be looking for a break from all that cooking or disappointed in his skill or time management. Going to the grocery may seem overwhelming when you don’t know where everything is or even what you really want.

Changing your life is a process, undertaken one step at a time. I have written previously about why drastic changes like New Years Resolutions fail. Some steps toward change are too big to maintain. Lifestyle and dietary habits are often so ingrained that it can require a redefinition of yourself to make that change. It is important for success not to jump in over your head, but to consciously walk through each step of your journey.

Even when we take each step individually, some steps can feel like a longer reach than others. A friend who has been reading my posts at Diets In Review shared with me recently that in his struggle to lose weight the biggest hurdle was not finding new information on nutrition and exercise that could help direct his behavior or modify his metabolism or even avoiding the temptation of his comfort foods, but rather the most difficult part for him was believing that he could actually make it over those hurdles. Self-doubt is a hurdle in itself.

Habits are those things that we do so frequently and naturally that we do them without thinking. When trying to change a habit, especially terminating a specific action or reaction or changing to a new action or reaction, these unconscious responses can feel out of your control or make you feel like you have an addiction.

When I quit drinking soda, I was not addicted and did not have withdrawals, but it was the first thing I reached for when craving sweet or wanting a boost in the afternoon. Rather than trying to control what has become an unconscious reaction, you may find it easier to control the stimuli that cause that reaction or create new stimuli to create a new reaction.

One of the first steps to making a life change is moving from the stage of precontemplation to contemplation, becoming more aware that your life could be improved in some way and how the status quo could be less than helpful. A process that can help you in this stage transition is known as Consciousness Raising. Consciousness Raising can occur purposefully or you may stumble upon information. Regularly visiting DietsInReview.com presents more opportunities for new information to be integrated into your consciousness; however, not everything we blog directly applies to you and your goals. Stumbling upon information would be as if someone unexpectedly handed you a brochure or flyer about what you needed to know while you were walking down the street one day. Checking out books from the library on the subject would be purposefully increasing your own awareness.