The Compelling Reason for Weight Loss

The Compelling Reason for Weight Loss

Successful people all have something in common that allows them to achieve their goals – a compelling reason.  A compelling reason is the true north, the foundational rock that guides your actions.  When a person has a deep seated, compelling reason for doing something, their commitment towards achieving their goal is clear.  We later call these people successful, once they have reached their goal, but it all starts with the compelling reason. 

One of my clients, Lisa, was diagnosed with diabetes shortly after giving birth to her third child.  Lisa’s father had type 2 diabetes that he suffered from for years before eventually succumbing to the illness.  He passed away when Lisa was 17 years old.  Lisa remembers how her father had little energy and was constantly battling leg ulcers and infections.  He was in and out of the hospital and missed much of Lisa’s childhood.  When Lisa learned of her own diagnosis of diabetes, she knew she needed help.  Lisa wants to be there for her three children, they are her compelling reason. 

A compelling reason is what drives you to achieve your goals.  Many people have the desire to lose weight, but without a compelling reason, they often get distracted or fail to follow through when things get hard or they have a slip up.  Doubt and fear that they will not achieve their goal start to creep in, and they give up.  They lack resilience.

What exactly is resilience?  We often think of certain people as being very resilient, but it is not a character trait.  Resilience is not something that some people’s personalities are more capable of than others.  Resilience is the effect of having a compelling reason.  When you have a compelling reason, you are able to pick yourself up and continue to move forward after any slip ups, fails, or set backs.  You have no other choice because your compelling reason is that strong.  You will continue to move forward no matter what, which ultimately makes you successful. 

The interesting thing about resilience is that it ultimately leads to increased confidence.  The more set backs you have, and your compelling reason drives you forward, the more you realize you can handle anything.  If the scale moves up 1-2 pounds, you know not to give up, but to keep trying.  When you slip up and eat a dessert that was not on your plan, you are able to keep going and get back on track with the next meal. 

Lisa wants to be there as an active, healthy mother for her children.  When we started working together, it was clear that she was determined to lose weight and improve her blood glucose tests.  Lisa had many set backs along the way.  One time she was on vacation and the stress of managing the kids, restaurants, and travel was too much and she regained 5lbs in one weekend.  While many people would have let that slide into a downhill path of slowly giving up, or telling themselves they failed yet again, Lisa remained vigilant.  She asked for help, doubled down on her efforts and kept moving forward.  Her resilience came from that compelling reason.  Lisa has so far been successful in losing over 30 pounds, and her blood glucose tests have put her back in the “prediabetes” range, and she is off all diabetes medications.  She continues to work towards her goal weight and completely reversing her diabetes.  She is an example of what is possible with the right motivation.

Every one of us has the ability to be successful in our weight loss goals.  The key to your success is having a compelling reason.  If you are not currently at your goal weight, and you have tried to lose weight in the past and failed, your compelling reason likely was not strong enough.  A compelling reason must be able to withstand all the competing desires and fears your brain will come up with.  Thoughts such as:

·       I’ve always failed before, I can’t lose weight

·       I’m afraid

·       It will be too hard

·       I don’t want to be vulnerable

·       It will be uncomfortable

These thoughts, while not true, will feel very uncomfortable and can derail you if you do not have a compelling reason to keep moving forward.   Through coaching, you learn that you can choose thoughts that keep you moving towards your ultimate goal.  Set backs only serve to increase your resilience and confidence which moves you closer to success. 

How do you find your compelling reason?  Your compelling reason can be a desire to be healthier, but does not need to be as serious as Lisa’s situation.  Many of my clients simply want to fit into smaller clothes.  The important factor is that it must be compelling to you.  Your compelling reason is what makes sticking to your plan easy and leads you to success. 

If you are about to embark on a new weight loss journey, start by writing down your compelling reason.  Sit with it for a few days, and rewrite it as many times as you need to until it moves you and you feel compelled to take action.  Keep the final version posted somewhere that you will see often to keep you reminded of why you are doing this important work.