The Path of Least Resistance
Apr 19, 2009
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These are just some thoughts I've been having on self discipline pertaining to weight loss and how do you get it. They may seem a bit random, but most thoughts are. As for as how do you get self discipline...I don't know, but after much practice, I just have it. I certainly wasn't raised with it, at our house, my mother had none and we were free to eat at will so I guess you could say I was RAISED to have none. That was my way of eating, I wasn't fat, so who needed discipline? Fast forward to 320 pounds and desperate to lose weight, I'm thinking sumpn' I'm doing ain't workin' for me, I'd better stop and figure it out right quick before I reach a point of no return. So what does one do when what they are doing is wrong...you do a total about face and turn and go in the opposite direction! So for me, self discipline started when I made that commitment to stay on the path of that direction. Here was my course of action. I was insulin resistant, so I started a low carb diet...everyone is different so you'll have to find what works for what is going on with YOUR body. I had PCOS and part of controlling it is exercise, so I did research on what kind I needed for my set of circumstances and body type. My thinker was a stinker, so I started group hypnotherapy classes to help me deal with why I was an emotional eater and how to deal with the feelings of being deprived. I learned that being deprived was not a punishment but a different way to look at food. Food was for nutrition...it was not for comfort or consolation when I felt bad...it was up to me to control my own inner brat who wanted what she wanted when she wanted it!  I finally got her settled down enough for her to learn that not eating pie with everyone else was not going to kill her, cuz she seriously thought it would! So after much practicing of the new guidelines I had put together, I was on a road to weight loss and practicing self discipline all along the way until it became second nature to me, and then miracle of miracles, it became a part of who I am.Now that all sounds fine and good, but what is not told in that little story is that by nature, I'm a layzee azz. I was never athletic, other than the fact that I lived in the country and road my bike for miles a day. I was like water running down a stream, whenever it encounters a rock, it will flow around the rock rather than over it, which would require more time and energy...it follows the path of least resistance. When I say that I totally changed the direction I was going, I mean I changed from a body and mindset that followed the path of least resistance to one who took adversity head on. When I first started to eat as close to natural as possible, if I was in town and short on time, it was just too easy to convince myself that stopping to pick something up was OK, even though I knew it wasn't healthy, it was easier than the mental and physical struggle of having to cook. I followed the path of least resistance. When it was time for me to workout, procrastination and finding other things to do was what got me out of it, instead of telling myself that this was just too important to miss and it HAD to be done for my health and weight loss. I followed the path of least resistance. When I was struggling with not eating the goodies I was addicted to, it was too easy to say "just this one time", and eat what I wanted rather than struggle with dealing with my emotions. I followed the path of least resistance. But in our defense, I think it is probably human nature to follow the path of least resistance and do what comes easiest for us. That's why dieting can be so hard...it's not "natural" for our mindsets to always take the path that is going to cause a struggle, whether mental, physical, or emotional. Laying on the sofa and doing nothing just 'feels so good'. Why would we possibly want to get up...that's just crayzee talk! But the truth is, our bodies were made for motion and to burn the stored energy that we create when we eat. We weren't made to be layzee azzez, we were made to be well oiled machines that function on food for fuel and exercise to keep us strong and healthy. It truly is in our best interest to eat well and workout whether we are fat or not. It truly is in our best interest to learn never to take the easy way out, but to get in the fight and stay there until it is no longer a struggle, but our way of life. My prayer for alla us is that the path of least resistance is no longer acceptable to us and that we are going to do whatever it takes to beat this thing. We are worth the effort and the struggle and the resistance!  Mary |
