Getting Past What Holds You Back with Baby Boomer Weight Loss Expert Scott 'Q' Marcus
There is as much power in what we feel and believe as there is what we can plan and do. Take time to reaffirm your beliefs and nourish your hopes.
By guest author Josh Landson
Many people have equated human nature with human condition and use this connection to justify delaying or outright avoiding difficult decisions. The fact of the matter is that the phrases are very different from one another. Human nature refers to the instincts that we have: the ways in which we act and think without the influence of our upbringing and culture. The human condition is the opposite of human nature: it is a combination of the social, personal, and cultural aspects of our being. The human condition is extremely important in our lives because it allows us to rise above our nature.
When a person says that human nature is the reason they cannot make a decision in their lives, they should be challenging themselves to overcome their biological design. In many cases, a person resigns themselves to their fate, stating that ‘whatever happens, happens.’ However, the reason that human beings have achieved so much in our short history and triumphed above all other organisms is that we strive beyond what is expected of us and do what seems impossible. For many people, settling for whatever happens is a defense mechanism. If you do not make a decision, you do not have to be responsible for the repercussions.
It requires a complete change in the way you think. If you are avoiding change and denying decision making, you have to realize that your action is in itself a decision! The decision you are making is not to act. Thus the consequences are your responsibility just the same as if you had acted.
Most of the time, people do not trust themselves over a decision. They think they aren’t good enough, smart enough, strong enough, and so on. This insecurity plagues every individual and it takes a lot of mental courage to overcome it. However, our human condition tells us that we are capable of achieving great things. If you are going to make a monumental decision, take a minute to do a mental exercise: take all of your presuppositions about your weakness to be true, and picture what the worst outcome would be. Now think about how you can rebuild from that outcome. You will find soon enough that your human condition allows you to work out any problem if you apply enough effort and determination.
Lastly, if you are still hesitant about making a change in your life, think about the historical precedents we have. Think about what would have happened if Martin Luther King Jr. was too afraid to make a stand for civil rights, or if Gandhi didn’t fight for the poor, or if no one stood up to the likes of Hitler. There have been many life changing events in history that wouldn’t have occurred without some very brave people. And you have the exact same human nature as them! Avoiding and delaying decision making will lead to a lot of mental turmoil and self-doubt. Although you may be uncertain about a change in your life, if you do not venture down that path it is something you’re likely to regret for a long time.
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First factoid: Supposedly (I say “supposedly” as I’m not sure of its veracity), the average overweight American needs to shed 38 pounds to level the scales at his correct weight. Obviously, some must lose more, and some less. Yet, should one take the collective poundage our citizenry must remove to be healthy, and divide it by the number of citizens who must drop those pounds; the resulting number would be just shy of 40.
Factoid two: That same “average American,” upon deciding to rid himself of the above mentioned 38 pounds, usually quits prior to 16 weeks; a shade less than four months.
The final datum is that — despite pie-in-the-sky claims made by “miracle weight loss cures” falsely proclaiming one can drop five to ten pounds a week — an “average” healthy, sustainable (two important distinctions) weight loss is between one-half and two pounds per week. Let’s split the difference down the middle and declare that number to be one and a quarter pounds every seven days.
If the “average person” desirous of losing the “average amount of weight” sheds the “average amount per week” and quits in the “average number of weeks,” he will be approximately half way to his goal when he throws in the towel. (Sixteen weeks multiplied by 1.25 pounds per week = 20 pounds; just the other side of the midway point of 38.)
This prompts a quasi-philosophical question: Is one a “success” or “failure” if she drops 20 pounds, when in actuality, her goal is 38? It’s one of those “half-empty, half-full” scenarios.
“Dang! I’ve been really careful on my diet and I haven’t lost a pound. I’m ready to give up the whole thing and toss the stupid scale through the window.”
“That’s kind of killing the messenger, isn’t it?”
“You miss the point. I’m eating healthy. I’m working out like a machine – and this is the result I get? Might as well just go back to how I was before.”
“I don’t know if that makes sense.”
“Why not?”
“You’re not losing now — and you’re being careful. If you just throw caution to the wind, won’t it get worse? I mean; I understand how frustrated you are, putting in all that work and having disappointing results; but it seems that’s better than gaining.”
“I’m not saying I’ll go put my weight back on. I’ll just — you know — cruise for a while. Stop trying so hard and stressing about the number, I’ll maintain. Then, when I’m ready, I’ll get back to losing.”
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure.”
“If you know how to maintain your weight, why do you need to lose 30 pounds?”
This video starts a little slowly and it seems a little “hokey.” However, I have got to admit, it really inspired me. An amazing story of weight loss and what you can do when you believe in yourself.
From the source: A disabled veteran for many years, he could only hobble with a cane.In desperation and overweight, he found help from a special yoga instructor.