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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

How Long is This Going to Take?

As for exercising and not seeing instant results, lets all take a deep
breath, then repeat after me: "It just takes time." If a person
has spent the last 20 years not exercising and not eating well,
they cannot expect two weeks on a treadmill to turn it all around.
Ah, but who amongst us does not do this? It can take a long time
for the effects of a sedentary lifestyle to be turned around, but
if during that time consistent good habits are put into action, good
things are going on inside as well.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) work for wei.ght loss when we
apply it to our day-to-day struggles, fears, doubts, and our
anxious thoughts like, "how long is this going to take." When I decide
to start or get back to my healthier habits, I'm already checking an
hour or two later to see if I can tell a difference. We all want it
now.

Get Your Mind Off the Scale

How much you weigh has little to do with how you look. We're too
fixated on the magic number. If I let the number on my scale bother
me I'd be a basket case since I can gain seven pounds in a day or
two just by eating the right (wrong?) things, especially salty
foods. When we moved to our new house I noticed I had gained some
weight and thought, "I'm eating the same, so what's the deal here?"
Then I realized the truth.

When we moved my regular exercise routine suddenly stopped entirely.
I had been riding my bike 50 minutes six days a week with four days
a week in the gym. At the old house my office was upstairs and I was
up and down those stairs probably 20 times a day.

Now everything was turned upside down. My office is on the main
level, so I'm no longer going up and down the stairs constantly. The
gym is in the basement but I only visit it once a day, not many
times.

I didn't get back into the consistent routine of riding my bike until
a few months after the move, and I didn't get back to consistent
weight training for awhile after that. So, yes I probably was eating
about the same but my energy needs had decreased, yet my food intake
hadn't.

So, in nine months time I put on seven pounds (that included the
holiday season). Normally I don't gain weight over the holidays but
that year I did because the added food plus decreased activity was
all it took. Take a look at what you do all the time -- have you
added something small but potentially dangerous like dipping into
the cookie jar every time you walk by it?

If I'd been fixated on the scale, I may have just thrown my hands up
in despair over that weight gain. Oh, my God, this is horrible and now
I feel awful so I'm going to eat something to make myself feel better.
I'll start a diet on Monday." I know better though because I've been
here before (and likely will revisit it again). We're never done until
we're dead. Accept the changes then do something about them.

Today I'm back into a steady routine of movement, and the weight is
coming off. I'm satisfied with that progress. It may take a couple more
months, it could take six, I don't care - I know what I'm doing is what
will make the difference, and if my weight suddenly changes despite the
exercise and despite eating well, then I'll look at the medications I'm
taking, or my stress levels, or whatever else might be going on.

Use EFT every single day on whatever is going on in your life, and
it will become easier and easier to become healthier every day. It
takes time to regain health so give yourself that time.

"Even though I wish I could lose this weight faster, I deeply and
completely accept myself and I accept that it takes time."

"Even though I don't want to wait to see a result, I deeply and
completely accept that I'm in a hurry and I want it now."

Remember too that exercise doesn't have to mean sports and it
doesn't have to mean horrible boring movements you do in front of
the TV. It can mean baking bread (kneading dough is a wonderful
exercise), hanging laundry out to dry (I know most people don't
think of that as fun, but hey, movement feels good), washing the
car (again, yuck, I know, but wait -- don't you feel invigorated
after you do "chores?" I know I do. Turn every chance to move into
your "idea" of exercise. Hold that full sack of groceries out in
front of you and lift it up and down a few times as you walk toward
the house. You just exercised your back muscles (and arms too). It's
all good and it all counts.

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