Small Choices-Big Differences

One of the benefits to weight loss surgery is that it gives you big differences in losing more rapidly than through other dieting programs.  I lost 26 pounds my first month post-op.  Woo Hoo!  That was so much fun.  Of course, it slows up as we get further post-operatively and closer to our ideal weight.  The choices we made were limited imposed by the newness of our surgery but the differences were huge.

Now, if you are further post-op, small choices still make big differences.  Enough 1+1+1’s equal big numbers thus big differences.  If you haven’t quite reached your goal.  Let’s say you are 50 pounds away from your desired goal and are a couple of years or longer post-operatively.  Those pounds will probably come off slower and require more of a consistent chain of healthy choices.  If you make consistent healthy choices, however small you think they may be, will result in your weight loss of 50 pounds.

Examples of small choices could be rather than have a larger portion of a complex carbohydrate in a meal, make it smaller and eat more protein; eat two bites of protein for every one bite of vegetable, complex carb or fruit; instead of eating a large dinner and small mini-meals throughout the day, spread them out equally through your day for sustained sugar levels, energy levels and minimize hunger.

For exercise, adopt a no-give philosophy of exercising a minimum of 20 minutes per day.  For that minimum of 20 minutes, aim for 30-45 minutes of cardio including strength training.  If unable to make that time commitment, your 20 minutes no-give could be something as simple as walking in place or anything that constitutes activity.

As you go through your day today, you are creating many of the circumstances which you will live tomorrow.  If you eat a plate of cookies, you’ll wear them tomorrow!  If you pass up eating the cookies, you will carry the same or less weight on your body tomorrow.  It is all in the small choices you make.  Small, positive choices and actions today bring greater value and rewards as you move forward not only in tomorrow but in your future weight loss success.

You cannot instantly wake up and lost 50 pounds to your weight loss goal or lose those regained pounds.  However, you can have a significant and dramatic impact on where you will be tomorrow and the day after and the day after.  By making a healthy choice by not eating the plate of cookies or even one cookie, that is a success.  That success will create a momentum for successes today and into tomorrow and on.  Making an unhealthy choice can set you up to cycle through unhealthy choices that compound on themselves.
You cannot change where you already are.  Yet you can have a significant and dramatic effect on where you will soon be.

After easily maintaining my weight for years after my surgery, I had a major life transition and regained some weight.  Yes, I got it off but it was so much harder than the first time around.  I couldn’t tell you of the temporary fix of all the food I ate to regain that weight.  I sure can tell you about the challenge of losing those regained pounds.  Was it worth it?  Of course, no.

Make choices today that set you up to build and create momentum.  You cannot instantly change your circumstances. You can, however, instantly change the direction in which you’re headed.  The small choices you make today you will enjoy not only today but tomorrow.

You’ve heard the saying that nothing tastes as good as thin feels.  Unfortunately this has become a bit of a cliche but it is true.  Food is fleeting.  How long does it take you to eat that cookie, bag of chips, or other food choice?  That “enjoyment” (if you want to call it that) is very temporary.  But the feeling of overcoming the head hunger, the emotional eating trigger to eat something lasts a long time and the results are long-lasting as in smaller body size, lower weight, healthier body, and a feeling of well-being and sense of control.

Set yourself up by the choices you make to plant yourself firmly and resolutely in the direction of your weight loss goals and life dreams. For where you choose right now to go, is where you will soon be.

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach