Long term, effective weight loss depends on many different factors, but, to me, one of the most important is the concept of mastery. Just like the athlete who participates in an obscure (i.e. non-sponsored) sport finds the motivation to get up each day and work towards his or her goal because of the sense of accomplishment that creates, mastery is a powerful motivator.
Mastery is not limited to athletic endeavours, however. Indeed, the motivation we find to clean out our attic or wash the car stems from the same sense of personal pleasure and accomplishment we achieve when striving for mastery in other forms. Through mastery, we are able to achieve a sense of self-satisfaction and development. It encourages problem solving, creativity, and risk-taking that eventually leads to the mastery of additional tasks and improves our self-esteem.
As lovely as these facts are, however, they are directly at odds with the way that common weight loss programs and weight loss industry edicts work. Instead of offering empowerment and self-efficacy, these prescriptive programs strip you of your autonomy and discourage problem solving in the name of making things 'easy' and 'fast'.
A client once explained to me: 'When I first started with you I thought, wow this is so easy, why didn't I think of it before. Then I realised why-I didn't think, I had been so trained to turn my brain off that I forgot I had one in the first place!'
Over the years, I have spent thousands of hours on a personal journey of mastery. I have mastered hundreds of exercises as well as healthy eating habits that have improved my life while lowering my weight and keeping it low.
But don't think that this was all easy-peasy. I've never been a coordinated girl, especially when I was still overweight. I lived through school always being the last chosen for teams or the one left standing as the odd one out. This was work! But it was also motivation. No matter how many times I crash a dumbbell into my head or swing my arms the wrong way and knock into a wall, the reminder of the things I can do-over 50 types of plank or feet-to-ceiling hanging leg lifts-and the mastery of those things continue to motivate me and get me to the gym each day.
On my personal journey, mastering each step was the way that I kept motivated and went from fat to fit, and remained there long term. However, this secret continues to be among the most controversial in the weight loss industry. Remember what Marx said 'Sell a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and you ruin a wonderful business opportunity'. Now, which side of the equation do you think the weight loss industry is on? Do you want to master 'how to fish'? Then stop patronising fish stores.
Need help understanding weight loss mastery? My online community, Love Your Weight Loss is here to help. Offering you a personalised, autonomous way to lose weight and keep it off, the information and resources at http://www.sallysymonds.com.au are all you need to learn to 'fish' for a lifetime.
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