Feeling Overwhelmed with the Prospect of Losing Weight?

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, who killed his guest to show off how strong he was, was rightfully cursed by the gods to roll an enormous boulder up a hill only for it to roll right back down as he reached the top. Oh, and he has to repeat this for eternity.

In a recent consult, a client expressed that she had once lost nearly 100 pounds. She had kept the weight off for years, only to regain it during the Covid pandemic. She had rolled the boulder up the hill only for it to come rolling back down. Now, staring back up at the mountain, she felt overwhelmed and frustrated and that she had betrayed herself.

In a sense, I can relate. In 2016 I started applying for doctoral programs but was intimidated. Four years of school followed by another year or two of research training. I had it in my head that my life would be on pause for five or six years. I was overly focused on the enormity of the goal, and it led to feelings of being overwhelmed.

When we think about making health-related changes, especially regarding weight loss, with a goal that may seem far away, we feel overwhelmed, we feel frustrated, and we feel that such attitudes may prevent action. We’re preoccupied with the top of the mountain, rather than taking the first step.

Perhaps the best term for what is going on is anticipatory anxiety, or the worry or fear that comes from anticipating a future event or situation. It might involve excessive deliberation. One of the best lessons that I ever learned about the choices we make is that time is going to pass no matter what.

So engage in a quick mental exercise and do this: Imagine three different versions of yourself. The present version, a version that does not change, and a version that does make changes. How do those three versions of yourself look different in 10 minutes?They are the same person in almost every sense.

What about in 10 months? This is the exciting part. I tell people that the only difference between them and major health changes is consistency and time. I’ve seen people lose 50 pounds in that time. I have seen people go from having pain walking for just five minutes to being able to walk all around Spain pain-free on a vacation. I’ve seen a 70-year-old work consistently, lose 40 pounds, and hike the Sierras with her family.

Let’s do one more- what about in 10 years. That’s when the differences are truly divergent. We get better when we act, and we deteriorate when we do not. To parrot retirement advice, the best time to start working on your health was yesterday. The second best time is today.

But in the process of change, I highly encourage you to just keep an eye on moving your feet forward, not on the top of the mountain. The good thing about doing so is that unlike Sisyphus, when you get to the top of the mountain, you can stay there.