I was watching a News Magazine show about a group of people who had “tried everything” to lose weight, but were never able to. These men and women were all at least 50 pounds overweight.
The premise of the show was that they needed a “credible threat”, so they were given an opportunity. They were all photographed in their swimsuits and given 8 weeks to lose 15 pounds or more. If they were not successful, the “threat” was that their photo would be shown on national television. However, if they did in fact lose the 15 pounds, they would get to tear up their pictures and nobody would ever see them.
They weren’t given any nutrition or exercise advice. No plans, no gym memberships, nothing. Just that one motivational tool.
How did they do? Of the five or six people on the show, only one lost less than 15 pounds (12), some lost 20 or more. That’s a lot of weight to lose in 8 weeks for anybody, let alone somebody who had never succeeded before!
What’s it mean? Well, what it means to me, is that you can use fear to motivate yourself. It also means you can do extraordinary things when you have a good enough reason.
The big question I have is, “Did they keep the weight off?”
If they did, they would have had to find a new motivation. I have also read that people who are most successful breaking bad habits do two things: 1) They replace the bad habit with a better alternative; 2) They reward themselves consistently when they stick with their new habit. Positive reinforcement.
Here’s a plan:
• Try finding a really compelling reason to get a healthy lifestyle. Make it negative if you have to. (ex: dying younger than you need to)
• Pinpoint one habit that is a major contributor to your unhealthy lifestyle. (ex: processed sugar snacks)
• Find an alternative, positive habit to replace the old one. (ex: fresh fruit)
• Reward yourself consistently for using your new habit. (ex: a massage for every 20 snacks of fruit you eat)
