Getting Past What Holds You Back with Baby Boomer Weight Loss Expert Scott 'Q' Marcus
This was actually triggered by something that happened to me today. I was moving a table to get to an electric socket. In the process, I knocked a ceramic mug of pens off the table. I caught the mug before it hit the ground and therefore prevented the pens from spilling all over the floor.
Sometimes we start thinking that it doesn’t matter what we do, instead of having desired results we will always be having opposite effects. And then we become hopeless beings and start giving up.
These are the questions we would be trying to answer through this article.
Ups and downs are part of life. Sometimes we feel like whole world is against us. Whatever we want to do others won’t let us. It looks like nothing is working in our favor. But that’s not the end of the world. Life is full of surprises and unexpected turns. This makes life more beautiful. You just have to open your eyes to this beauty and embrace it with full heart.
Optimism is about to be happy. It’s about believing in your abilities. Believing that you can make things happen even when circumstances are against you.
When I asked how he knew it was time to initially seek help, he said, “I finally realized I had no control over alcohol. I thought about it all the time. I couldn’t wait to drink. I was obsessed with it. I needed a place to get help.” As I listened, I thought, “Substitute the ‘food’ for ‘alcohol,’ and that’s me.” It was one of the triggers in getting me to lose my weight.
We don’t like to think of overeating as an addiction for several reasons. First of all, it’s part of the norm to eat too much. That would make us a country of addicts, and true as that might be, we sure don’t want to admit it. Moreover, there are no age restrictions, you can do it in public, and it’s legal. Eating too much might make you fat, but a cop won’t pull you over for a 300-triglyceride level, it won’t cause you to black out, nor do unwise things you’ll regret with morning’s light.
Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary defines addiction as, “persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be physically, psychologically, or socially harmful.” Let’s be clear; when you’re hiding goodies in your purse, lying on the bed to tighten your belt, or avoiding social gatherings because you’re afraid of the reactions; it’s a safe bet you’ve met the entry qualifications for addicted.
The bigger problem is, unlike the more nefarious addictions, we cannot “just say no.” As difficult as it might be, an alcoholic can swear off booze, and a smoker can refuse cigarettes. We, however, must continue to indulge while learning to set arbitrary, always shifting, sometimes ill defined limits about what constitutes “too far.”
Sure, a half-gallon of ice cream is a pretty clear violation of self-control. One could say the same for a quart, maybe. But where do we draw the line? Is a cup all right? What about two? To the alcoholic, an ounce is too much. For us, where does it start?
We are very quick to beat ourselves up – and incredibly slow to congratulate ourselves. We also tend to dismiss it when others do, by showing off our “big but.” You know…
A friend says, “Wow! You look like you’ve lost a whole lot of weight! You look great!”
We reply, “Yeah, but, I’ve got so far to go.”
Or, someone says, “You are a great mom! I can’t believe how well you take care of your children.”
And again, “Yeah, but, you should have seen me last week. I was like a banshee.”
There is a tremendous difference between being proud of what we do and being conceited. Each time we deny a compliment — or beat ourselves up over a mistake – we avoid the opportunity to feel good. That engages our habit (whether that be eating, drinking, smoking, stress…) and we end up feeling worse, furthering the drive to engage in the habit.
Enjoy a compliment this week – and pass one on.
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I had not previously heard of Barbara Ehrenreich, but she’s listed as “acclaimed journalist, author and political activist.” In this video, Smile or Die, from RSA, she explores what is termed as the “darker side of positive thinking.”
Whereby I agree that just thinking something can be naive and even dangerous (per her war example), I think she is simplifying the process. It’s not about just thinking and expecting a result. It is also about getting support, guidance, and direction from other people. Of course, you have to take some action too. Having said all that, my good friend Henry Mulak posted this on my Facebook wall and I think it is very cool. Not only does the animation intrigue me but she makes some great points.