All or Nothing Thinking

All or nothing thinking. 

It's easy to get discouraged when you are attempting to reach a goal if you suffer from all or nothing thinking. Often times this stems from a need to be perfect. Except there really isn't such thing as perfect when it comes to individuals, so you look for someone to blame for your imperfections. 

The easiest one is always yourself. I used to be really bad about all or nothing thinking. Because I'm more an abstainer than a moderator I always do much better when I'm in the process of losing weight. I rarely cheat, and seem to have good results during this time period, except I'm realizing that at my age it sure does seem to be coming off much more slowly now. For me the harder part is always weight maintenance, because this usually involves more moderation. It's much easier for me to completely stay away from the chips at a Mexican restaurant, than it is to eat just a "few."

You see for me there rarely is just a few. Once I get started it's hard to stop. Kind of like the famous Lay's potato chip campaign of the 60's and the 70's, "Bet you can't eat just one." Many years ago my family went on a cruise, and I returned four pounds heavier. Now in the scheme of life what is four pounds? Actually, not much, and really a pretty small amount for a cruise. Except that I was a victim of all or nothing thinking at the time. Because I had not been able to maintain my weight, and had gained a few pounds I gave up completely. Within a year or so I was probably thirty pounds heavier. 

What I failed to understand at the time was that life is a journey, and your weight is always along for the ride. What I should have done was say, "Wow! I had a great time on my cruise, but now I'm ready to get back on track and lose these four pounds." Do you know how much quicker it is to lose four instead of thirty? Today I try not to think in such an all or nothing way. 

I'm kinder to myself. I don't beat myself up when I've had a hard week or even a hard few months. Life can get in the way, but the beauty of it is that I know I can always go back to my Weight Watcher meeting, where I'll be greeted with all the support I need to get started again. 

Not that this is an advertisement, but if you've been wanting to lose some weight you might want to give Weight Watchers a try. If possible try to attend the meetings because that's where you learn that you're not alone. You'll also learn a few tips along the way from fellow members, and be inspired by other's weight loss. Don't let all or nothing thinking get in the way of achieving your dreams.