| No, I'm not going to launch in to a tirade about | | | | learning to pedal...what foods fuel us, allow us to |
| how great bicycles are for exercise (although | | | | move efficiently forward, and what foods slow us |
| they certainly are one option for moving your | | | | down. This is where most diets focus-on the |
| body more and having fun at the same time)...no, | | | | pedaling-but pedaling won't do you any good if |
| I'm talking about the similarities between learning | | | | you can't first get on the bicycle and if once you |
| to ride a bicycle and have real weight loss | | | | are on the bike you can't stay on because you |
| success. | | | | are out of balance. |
| Almost everyone has had the experience of | | | | Instead of putting all the emphasis on pedaling, |
| learning to ride a bike. During that process we | | | | let's get on the bike! That is dealing with our |
| experience a myriad of emotions--fear, | | | | mindset...we have to get over our fears, our past |
| trepidation, anger, nervousness, excitement, | | | | failures, our hesitancies...we have to believe that |
| exhilaration, joy, freedom...not in a straight line, but | | | | we can have success. Other kids learn to ride |
| a zig-zag or swirling of emotions. | | | | bikes, and so did we...other people can lose weight, |
| And we are not typically thrust on a 2 wheeler | | | | and so can we! It doesn't matter if we haven't |
| without any warning...we grow into it. We start by | | | | been able to get on the bike in the past-at some |
| watching others on their bicycles and we get a | | | | point, we will get on it successfully as long as we |
| tricycle, then we move to a bike with training | | | | believe we can! |
| wheels, and then one day we are on our | | | | Once we are on the bicycle we must have some |
| bike...untethered by excess wheels. | | | | balance while we move forward, otherwise we will |
| Weight loss success--meaning permanently | | | | fall again. We must encourage ourselves |
| dropping excess fat--is like getting rid of those | | | | repeatedly that we can do it...over and over, day |
| excess wheels. And it too is filled with | | | | after day, until we just do! We believe we can, |
| emotions-scary and exhilarating...sometimes | | | | and we begin to pedal. Learning to pedal is one of |
| bouncing back and forth between these two as | | | | the easiest, most natural steps in learning to |
| well as many other feelings. | | | | ride...we learn to pedal long before we get on a |
| We can't do it all in one fell swoop. In learning to | | | | two-wheeler. |
| ride our bikes we had to gain certain skills, like | | | | We can also learn about nutrition right now...while |
| balance, how to hold our bodies and the bike so | | | | we are still on our tricycle, before we have our |
| we don't fall, how to get on the bike, how to | | | | balance figured out. Learning about nutrition can |
| pedal, how to stop, and even how to get off. | | | | help guide us as we shift from walking to |
| Some of these skills came easily to us, others...not | | | | pedaling...but the biggest challenge in achieving |
| so much. Our friends and siblings may have had | | | | weight loss success is getting on the right track |
| very similar experiences-or ones that were | | | | and maintaining balance. This is what mindset |
| extremely different. And our perception of their | | | | is...and that is where we must focus in order to |
| experience may have been quite different from | | | | have permanent weight loss. Once we have the |
| what they actually experienced. For example, my | | | | proper mindset and we believe we can lose |
| brother was two years older than I, and so it | | | | weight then we will begin to make more healthy |
| seemed to me that he learned to ride his bike | | | | food choices-because they feel good...we feel |
| quite easily...as if by magic. In reality, I suspect he | | | | energized, thrilled, joyful with these choices...it |
| fell almost as many times as I did. Now, he had a | | | | becomes the most natural thing to do, not an |
| big advantage-when he was learning to ride we | | | | effort at all! |
| lived on a flat street and he had a big area in | | | | Once we learn to ride a bike, we never forget |
| which to practice. When I learned to ride we lived | | | | how. It may be scary at first if it has been years |
| on a hill so I was, for safety reasons, restricted | | | | since we last got on a bike...we may think we will |
| to our own long, narrow, driveway for practice. | | | | crash and burn...but generally, we get back on and |
| Similarly, we have to learn skills in order to | | | | after a few bobbles we are moving along at a |
| successfully lose weight. Some of these skills will | | | | wonderful pace once again. |
| come easily-or we have already acquired them. | | | | The weight loss success journey can be like that, |
| Others may be quite challenging for us. And it | | | | too. Once we acquire the mindset of success we |
| does us no good to compare our skill level with | | | | never really forget it. It may be rusty from lack |
| anyone else's...because we don't really have a full | | | | of practice, but we can dust it off by repeating |
| picture of where anyone else is on their journey | | | | to ourselves again that we can. We'll swerve a bit |
| to health. | | | | here and there, but quickly we will be back on |
| Some of the skills we must learn in our weight | | | | track and on the path to the healthy body we |
| loss journey deal with basic nutrition. That is like | | | | want and deserve! |