Don't Be Fooled By Before and After Photos
/As the new year is approaching it’s time to start making New Year’s resolutions. For most people these will revolve around health and weight loss.
So comes the flood of before and after photos showing people who have “achieved success” on weight loss programs. The after photos show them smiling, so happy, they have accomplished all their goals so their life is SO MUCH BETTER!.....But is it really?
I urge you to take caution when looking at these photos. It is literally the same person but with a slightly different body, that’s it.
The person in the after photo IS NOT...
A better person
More likeable
Have more value/worth
Achieved happiness
A better wife/husband/sibling/family member
All that is different is their body shape. Losing weight will not change your opinion about yourself. No matter how much the diet industry tells you IT WON’T MAKE YOU LIKE YOURSELF MORE!
Don’t believe me? Think back to the time you were “thinner” that weight you always reference you want to get back to. Were you happy about yourself then? Did you value yourself then? Most people would say no they thought they were fat and needed to lose a few more pounds.
What you need to do RIGHT NOW is start valuing and appreciating yourself! Not when you lose the weight.
Appreciating yourself in your current state will increase your chances of achieving your health goals by 1,000%.
Why??? People take care of the things they care about!
Total honesty, making ANY change is hard and requires you to follow through even when your tired and that new habit doesn’t feel easy. If you are making this change because you value yourself and want to feel better vs because you hate your body, you will follow through with your resolutions.
Wouldn’t you rather enjoy the months of change vs white knuckling and hating yourself through them?
Let’s walk through a real life scenario. New Year New You! You got a gym membership, it’s first thing in the morning and your alarm goes off. Time for the gym!
Low Self Value/ White knuckling: I really need to get my lazy self out of bed. I’m never going to lose this weight unless I put in the work every day.
High Self Value/ Enjoying Process: I’m tired but I feel so good everytime i’m done exercising. I want to start the day off feeling good and do this for myself!
Just from making the new activity about taking care of yourself, giving yourself value, the perceived level of difficulty changed drastically!
The gym went from being a way to control and punish your body to self care! This way of thinking bleeds into all areas of your life and will ensure you stick with difficult but worthwhile life changes.
So as you make your New Year’s resolution remember losing weight will not make you:
Happier or
Like Yourself
The only way to achieve lasting health results is to do so because you see the value in yourself!