Is Perfectionist Thinking Supporting
or Sabotaging Your Success for Healthy Weight Loss and Lifestyle
Change?
High standards are the driving force behind many success
stories. As Annette Colby, PhD, describes in her newsletter
Eating Peacefully,
many scientists, researchers, artists, athletes and successful
business people spend endless hours perfecting their knowledge,
working harder than their colleagues, and pushing themselves
beyond their own limitations, all in an attempt to achieve
certain standards. At the root of this drive is perfectionism.
Used as the gift it can be, perfectionism offers a driving
force, determination and the ability to achieve success. Unfortunately,
when it comes to health and weight management, many women
combine perfectionism with a self-punishing attitude, defined
by unrealistic goals. As a result, perfectionism can sabotage
the journey to a fitter self.
Perfectionism Can Create Stress
Take the issue of stress. Women consistently tell us that
stress is one of their biggest concerns - too much to do and
not enough time to do it in. The demands of their busy lives
get in the way of healthy eating, physical activity, or just
sorely needed down time for taking care of themselves. While
that's stressful enough in itself, perfectionistic thinking
that relentlessly drives us to "do it all," and
sets us up for feelings of failure when we can't, lies at
the root of the stress that overwhelms us.
Perfectionism Can Defeat Fitness
Perfectionism can also stand in the way of achieving health
and fitness goals we set for ourselves. Expectations that
we must have a perfect body, perfect eating habits, and/or
perfect adherence to a physical activity routine sets us up
for failure. How many times do we think if we are going to
try something at all, we have to do it exactly right, or we
might as well not even try?
This kind of perfectionistic thinking that sabotages instead
of supports is usually based on things we think we "should"
do, rather than what is realistic. For example, instead of
setting a goal to increase our physical activity based on
what we are currently doing, we aim for the moon. We resolve
to immediately start walking daily, for example, even though
we were couch potatoes only yesterday. And the first couple
of times we miss our walk, we think, "Well, I've failed
again; I just can't do this." And then we give up completely.
The same scenario is repeated with attempts to improve eating
behaviors. Even though nutritionists emphasize that "moderation"
in eating richer foods is the goal, we hear "elimination."
And when we inevitably reach for a brownie or other food we
don't believe fits "healthy" eating, our perfectionist
mindset tells us we are incapable of eating in way that supports
health and fitness. Once again, like our fitness plan, we
give up our attempts at eating more healthfully all together.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Is what I accomplish never quite good enough?
- Do I put off a project waiting to get it just right?
- Do I feel I must give more than 100% on everything I do
or I will fail?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, read
further about how to turn your perfectionism into
an advantage, to help you achieve true success in your ongoing
journey to a fit you.
For 37 years, Green Mountain at Fox Run has
developed and refined a life-changing program exclusively
for women seeking permanent strategies for healthy weight
loss and health. More than just another weight
loss retreat and spa, Green Mountain combines proven
science with what works in the real world, to offer an innovative
non-diet lifestyle program. Our core weight
loss program offers an integrated curriculum of practical,
liveable techniques that helps women take charge of their
eating, their bodies and their health. Unlike health
spas or adult
weight loss camps, our approach is not focused on just
losing weight but on how to keep it off for a lifetime.
Our participants' long-term weight
loss success is among the highest of any program, as
documented in peer-reviewed scientific literature. Learn more about our women's weight loss program
©2007
Green Mountain at Fox Run, Ludlow, Vermont. This information
is the property of Green Mountain at Fox Run. Permission
to use single copies for personal, noncommercial use is
authorized. For all other purposes, please see details.
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