The Slimming Pool Weight Loss Blog: Hey, I was Eating That!
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Exercise for Weight Loss: How Long is This Going to Take?
As for exercising and not seeing a result let us all take a deep breath and then repeat after me: "It just takes time." If a person has spent the last 20 years not exercising and not eating well, they cannot expect that two weeks on a treadmill will turn that around. It can take a long time for the effects of a sedentary lifestyle to be turned around, but if during that time consistent good habits are being employed, then good things are going on inside as well.
When I studied herbology it was considered that for every year you'd had a problem, then expecting one month of herb therapy was reasonable, or for every month, one week. So if one has had a weight problem for 10 years, then expecting anything less than a concentrated effort for 10 months is folly.
I think the best way to use EFT for weight loss issues is by using it on our day-to-day struggles, fears, doubts, and any anxiousness over "how long is this going to take." I know when I decide to start adding healthier habits, I'm checking after an hour or two to see if I can tell a difference. We all want it right now.
My other problem is with weight alone - how much we weigh has nothing whatsoever to do with how we look. People get too fixated on the scale. If I let the scale bother me I'd be a basket case right now because I put on about 7 pounds since last Sept. At first I did the usual, "I'm not doing anything different. I'm eating the same. What's going on?" routine, and then I realized the truth.
When I moved into a new house last September my exercise routine suddenly stopped entirely. I had been riding my bike 50 minutes six days a week, and doing weight training four days a week. My office was upstairs and I went up and down the stairs probably 20 times a day.
Now everything was turned upside down. My office is on the main level, so I'm no longer going up and down the stairs every day. I didn't get back into the routine of riding my bike until just a few weeks ago (consistently), and I didn't get started back to consistent weight training until a few weeks ago either. Yes, I'm eating about the same, but my energy needs had changed drastically. So, in nine months time I put on seven pounds (that included the holiday season). Normally I don't gain weight over the holidays but this year I did because the added food plus decreased activity was all it took.
So, if I'd been fixated on the scale, I may have just thrown my hands up in despair over the weight gain! Oh, my God, this is horrible and now I feel awful so I'm going to eat something to make myself feel better. I'll start a diet on Monday." We've all been there. In my case even though some of my pants no longer are comfortable to wear, I just scratched my head, and thought it was strange, but went about my life. It didn't make me "feel awful" it just was and I accepted it.
Now, I'm back into a steady routine of movement, and the weight is coming back off and now I'm satisfied with that progress. It may take a couple more months, it could take six, I don't care - I know what I'm doing is what will make the difference, and if my weight suddenly changes despite the exercise and despite eating well, then I'll look at the medications I'm taking, or my stress levels, or whatever else might be going on.
Use EFT every single day on whatever is going on in your life, and it will become easier and easier to become healthier every day. It takes time to regain health - give yourself that time.
"Even though I wish I could lose this weight faster, I deeply and completely accept myself and I accept that it takes time."
"Even though I don't want to wait to see a result, I deeply and completely accept that I'm in a hurry and I want it now."
Remember too that exercise doesn't have to mean sports and it doesn't have to mean horrible boring movements you do in front of the TV. It can mean baking bread (kneading dough is a wonderful exercise), hanging laundry out to dry (I know most people don't think of that as fun, but hey, movement feels good), washing the car (again, yuck, I know, but wait - don't you feel invigorated after you do "chores?" I know I do. Turn every chance to move into your "idea" of exercise. Holding that grocery sack out in front of you and lift it a few times as you walk toward the house. It's all good.
