Longevity

I love this word! At first, my clients feel that it’s not easy to plan or commit to hanging in for the long haul, but once they get it, they realize that the long haul is what they are going to face no matter what they weigh. It’s life-changing to finally understand that you will be, no matter what.

I would like to speak about the amazing word “Longevity” and what it means to me. My clients understand that it is the key to success and there can be no long-term loss without longevity.

When a woman comes to see me, there is the inevitable first question. “So, how long do you think it will take me to lose ___ pounds? ” Every woman wants a guarantee that will align with her distorted idea of how long it should take to lose a certain amount of weight. Let’s face it; on TV they all seem to be able to lose 20 or 30 pounds per month!  It’s interestingly sad to have someone finishing her first week losing 3½ pounds say, “Oh, I thought it would have been more.” Really?

Well, that is neither realistic nor healthy. Setting unrealistic expectations is the way most of you condemn yourself to failure.
So, what does this all have to do with longevity?  Here it is: if you admit to lying to yourself in the past about the level of commitment you have made to your weight loss program, then you can start anew by committing to be consistent with when and how much you eat. Then the next step is accepting to stay committed however long it takes. Do you have, or can you embrace, the longevity mindset that will take you to the end to achieve your goals? I know you already want to stop reading this. “Years,” you’re thinking. “She’s talking years!” 

I am not. I’m talking realistic, healthy, aggressive weight loss: between one and two pounds per week.  Sound boring? Not fast enough? Have I lost you already? Well, how much did you lose last week? A pound or two? Nothing? Possibly gained? In truth, it’s the entire stopping and starting that slows you down.

If you are consistent and understand what you are eating and why you have chosen to do so, you set neither a time frame nor impossible goals. You will then be able to sustain the commitment to yourself. You will experience the patience that leads to longevity, and before you know it, you’ll be done!

So, say you lose two pounds per week or eight pounds per month. Can you honestly tell me you wouldn’t be happy at the end of that month? Time goes by quickly, and before you know it, another month is gone and so are another eight pounds. Now you are down 16 pounds!  Well, that’s not too bad, and it is doable because this time you just stopped thinking and comparing and creating another impossible goal that you could never reach.

Once you begin to realize your truth-and that perhaps you have never owned it-you will settle into being consistent in your eating and you will stop thinking. That will assure your state of longevity, and suddenly, you’re done! In truth, you will have reached your goal the first day you make this commitment to yourself because the rest is just a matter of time-longevity. It’s one of my favorite words.
 
A Quick Anecdotal Story 
I had a client who wanted to lose 30 pounds. During her first visit, I went through my regular speech. That first week, she pretty much followed my weight loss plan. At the end of the week, she got on the scale and lost .4 pounds. “Yes!” She exclaimed, pulling her arm into her side in a show of victory. It made me smile to think that she was so excited to have lost less than half a pound. That same week I thought of her when another client voiced her disappointment at having lost “only” 3 ½ pounds.  Well, to make a long story short, the first woman consistently lost anywhere from .2 to .8 pounds per week, and she was always equally enthusiastic. The week she lost a full pound, she nearly fainted!  As expected, she achieved her goal of 30 pounds and has successfully maintained that weight loss for many years now.  How long did it take? Who cares? 

The other woman? Well, she was so disappointed in regularly losing only 3 pounds each week that she stopped! Amazing, but true.
 
Longevity – Is it in you?