Friday, January 16, 2009

Knowing is Never Enough

I used to use food as my panacea.

Anger, stress, grief, boredom, loneliness… I filled up the holes in my soul with food. I lived in a world where chocolate “cured” everything.

Eating gave me the sensation of satisfaction that I was lacking elsewhere in my life - even though it was temporary…

It took me years to realize that my troubles can’t be fixed with food, and even longer to stop rushing to the fridge when ever life got tough.

There are many “non-food” alternatives to cure moods, it is just so hard to get yourself to do them when you have been “programmed” to eat! You see, our brains are “WIRED” to act in certain ways. This is your gut reaction. It is what you have always done before. We are creatures of habit.

We all KNOW we should eat better and exercise. You can KNOW every weight loss tip in the world, but they are all useless until you actually DO them! Knowing you need to change is not enough by itself!

You learn by doing, not by knowing. You need to preform a new habit over and over again before you really “get it.” I have heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, but it can take even longer if you are trying to correct (unlearn) a bad habit you have had for the last 20+ years.

Along the way you might slip-up and "regress" to your old ways, but this does not mean you are a failure. You are still learning. Would you be mad at a baby trying to take her first steps but then falls? Of course not!

Be forgiving to yourself like you would to a little baby doing her best. Nurture your new lifestyle and soon you won't have to "suffer through it." It will become your everyday routine!

You must really commit to the change, and do it consistently if you truly want to change! You need to DO it, not just KNOW it. Knowing is never enough.

5 comments:

Kimberly said...

Great post!

It is so true that knowing something and doing something are two entirely different things. It takes a real commitment in order to really do something. You have to want it so badly that you are willing to do all of the things you really don't want to do in order to achieve it. And in time, you will make new habits that are actually good for you.

jeimayprovy said...

Excellent post! Every word you said is sooo true. You should be an inspirational speaker.

Anonymous said...

So honest and so true!

Anonymous said...

Hey Jessica,
I love this post. You are so absolutely correct, and as someone who still likes a little comfort food-pizza-I know exactly what you mean about emotional eating.
I know so many people who have trouble breaking these habits, but until you do, at least a bit, you aren't going to get the results you deserve.

Thanks for a great post,
Ryan

Lizzy said...

knowing is never enough but doing what you have known with discipline will bring the result you've always wanted