How many times have many of you said to yourself –“Here I am 50 pounds overweight-if I had only done something when I was just 20 pounds over”? Obesity over the years has often been described as a disorder, or a disease of procrastination.
Why do humans often procrastinate and in particular, why do overweight individuals put things off and not fix their weight problem “sooner than later”?

There is no one easy answer, but there are common thinking patterns.

1. UNREALISTIC VIEWS FOR SUCCESS

   People who procrastinate often do not have a realistic view of how a successful person was able to achieve their goals. They think that it was easy for their friend to lose 50 pounds. This is unrealistic, as anyone who has lost 50 pounds knows that there are ups and downs, stresses, etc., that they went through in their journey. To be successful, one has to accept that there will be frustrations and failures and that there will be obstacles along the way. The key- Keep Persisting.

2. FEAR OF FAILURE

   Many people fear failure and will base their self-esteem and self image on their accomplishments. If they fail at their weight loss efforts, they feel that they have been a failure as a human being. It might be too dangerous to try, so rather than risk failure, they might do nothing at all.

3. PERFECTIONISM

   Many of us we were raised to think that we had to be the best in everything that we did. As a result, many overweight people feel that if they can’t be perfect on their diet, they might as well just quit.

4. REWARD SYSTEM

   People who are successful, give themselves credit for their successes (big as well as small), Procrastinators often do the opposite and continually put themselves down. To be successful we have to learn to accept that if we have 6 out of 7 good days, it was a good week and be happy with these results. Remember-“Success Breeds Success”.

5. NEGATIVE SELF TALK

   Try to avoid statements like, “I should lose weight or I should get started on my diet”, as these types of statements usually don’t work and in fact often make you feel resentful, guilty and prevent you from getting going on your weight control plan. Change you new self talk to a more positive approach such as: “I choose to be to be slim, healthy, energetic and attractive and I know that what I weigh and how I feel, is entirely up to me”.

6. LACK OF ASSERTIVENESS

   Many people (to be nice) put things off because they do things that often they don’t want to do. For example, they might be afraid to tell their hostess at a dinner party that they are watching their weight and will have to pass on dessert. They don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or make anyone upset with them.

7. LACK OF MOTIVATION

   In life our motivation goes up and down. Understanding this and accepting that this could be the cause for your procrastination, can give you useful insight for the future. You will accept that what you need to work on is enhancing your motivation and begin working on your list for all your reasons and benefits for losing weight.

   There are many more examples that can be given. However, identifying your reasons for procrastinating using the above examples is the first step (Awareness). Accepting your personal reasons and accepting that you are willing to change, is step number two. Now you are ready to take Action. Please refer back to my previous article:
   “AAA” PROCESS FOR POSITIVE CHANGE (AWARENESS, ACCEPTANCE, and ACTION)

   One last word: Remember: -the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second best time is today! The same applies to those who have put things off with controlling their weight. Yes, it would have been best to lose weight months or years ago, but the second best time is right now!!