Perfection Procrastination

This information is something I've finally recognized, but was reminded of when listening to the podcast of Leigh Peele. You can find more of her excellent insights at http://www.leighpeele.com/ I will tell you what I found so true...

If every person who ever came to one of my Weight Watchers meetings never left, I would need Fenway Park to hold them all. Why do they leave? Why do they take so long to come back, or worse, never come back? I know. The desire for PERFECTION.

For those who are new to weight loss, coming to the Weight Watchers meeting is so exciting! This will be the answer to all their healthy eating problems. They will get the magic books that will have all the secrets. In reality, the information IS powerful. However, the member actually has to implement it. She wants to follow it to the letter as if all the obstacles to a healthy lifestyle will disappear when she walks out the meeting. The world will be in Technicolor, like in the "Wizard of Oz." For a day or 2, or maybe even a few weeks, everything is going great. Then...the cheesecake calls. The pillow seems nicer than the sneakers on the other side of the bed. There is nothing healthy to eat in the house. No perfection this week...

She'll come back when she can be perfect, but that never happens. What does happen is perfection paralysis. She feels if she can't follow everything in the WW program, don't do any of it. Don't fall for that trap!!!

The best way to get out of perfection procrastination is to do SOMETHING, anything, positive for your health. Eat an apple. Walk around the block. Get out a WW cookbook and look at it. Log the next few meals in your tracker, no matter what it is. You will snap out if it.

The one big AHA moment in the podcast was this. Think about when you had your biggest binge, or longest time of not exercising, or worst self talk. It wasn't when you were comfortable coming to the meetings and doing the just best you can, like maybe during the holiday season. It's when you put the most pressure on yourself to be perfect. When you tell yourself, no this or that, and I MUST do this or that. It's like a dam. It just bursts. You are 2 steps forward, 5 steps back. The better way is 1 step forward. Another step forward. Work one step at a time. Build your confidence. Celebrate your success. If you've been on the program for 3 weeks, and then you go out with friends and order the left side of the menu, don't think what an awful day I had I'm a failure! Think 21 day on program VS one meal off. That is FANTASTIC!

Leigh's great words of wisdom were "Screwing up does not equal giving up." That would make a great t-shirt (not for the meeting, though) Come to the meeting. I love you, even if you are not perfect. Neither am I!