Healthy Adult Behavior and your Weight Loss Journey
/“Adulting is finally understanding why your mom was so upset with you when you didn’t
take the chicken out of the freezer .” – Jaline Nicole
5 “HEALTHY ADULT TRAITS” APPLIED TO YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY!
Practice these traits that are associated with being a “healthy adult” in your weight loss journey (and in your relationships)! Here we go!
A HEALTHY ADULT…
Accepts feedback/criticism gracefully, being appreciative for an opportunity to improve. When someone expresses concern over a behavior they see you engaging in that goes against what YOU SAID YOU WANT, how do you react? For example, if you’re eating ice cream several times a week after having bariatric surgery and a loved one brings that to your attention… how do you react? None of us can learn and grow without taking the feedback from others and using it to grow…
Does NOT engage in self-pity. Okay. We all have moments of self-pity. However, if you’re going to have a pity party, then set the timer for ten or fifteen minutes and then get on with life. If you find yourself thinking, “Other people who had surgery when I did are losing weight more quickly. Why not me?” or “Why does everybody else get to eat whatever they want, and they never gain weight? Why me?” Time for a wake-up call to stop with the self-pity and get on with adulting!
Accepts responsibility for their own actions and does not make excuses or blame others. Let’s say your workout buddy cancels… will you still work out or use the excuse that your partner cancelled so you couldn’t possibly work out? Do the next wise thing for yourself in your life … because those things will lead you to where you say you want to be!
Has outgrown the all-or-nothing stage. Remember those oh-so-many previous weight loss attempts when you would start out gangbusters, going to the gym every single day and not eating one single simple carb… but then something would come up and just like that, no more gym and you were back to the junk food full force. Healthy adults realize that all-or-nothing thinking and behavior are not realistic or healthy. Do the next wise thing in your life. That may mean you miss a day at the gym now and then or eat some junk food now and then. But then get right back on track!
Has a set of guiding principles, beliefs or values that create the framework for decisions and actions. I call these your “Meaningful Matters." Choose your behaviors to move you closer to the things that matter to you most… those things that are most meaningful to you. Healthy behaviors move you closer to a healthy life.
