night and then be able to maintain it successfully. My girlfriend does long strenuous walks a couple of days a week and strength train- ing twice a week, so I suggested adding one more day of aerobic activity and see how she did with that. This allows her to incremen- tally add in more activity in a way that feels reasonable and good to her.
In helping her with meal planning, I didn’t want to offer a dietary plan with specific recipes. Not only am I not a dietician, but this won’t help her. If I tell her what is right to eat, it won’t be based on her choices and what works for her family. It may also create a right and wrong thinking, which could lead to deprivation and emotional eating. It is better to teach her how to create healthy, low glycemic meals with any foods, give her options and allow her to make her own choices.
Don’t Let a Doctor Mistreat You
What this doctor did was prob- ably the worst way to motivate someone to become healthier. She focused on a diagnosis with- out listening or validating her pa- tient. She was critical, unsympa- thetic, quick to judge, delivered the pre-diabetic lecture whether it applied or not, and used fear as a way of getting her message across. She also touched a highly sensitive emotional spot by focus- ing on the need for weight loss, which is now a canned message for anyone at risk for disease, going through menopause or even slightly heavy. It is uncalled for and has unintended conse- quences.
When someone is rebuked, told they aren’t okay, ordered about and frightened, they naturally feel upset and part of that feeling often gets turned on themselves as if they did something wrong. They will then try to comply with the demands. But too much change at once is hard to sustain and often leads to frustration, giv- ing up and emotional eating. The common reaction is guilt, feeling more depressed and deciding to cancel the next appointment. Sadly those same doctors who are demanding so much of their patients are too busy to notice or care if the appointment gets missed.
I’m happy to say Gail has a new doctor who gave her that “atta girl” she was looking for and told her she was in great shape, wasn’t pre-diabetic and agreed with the suggestions I gave her. This month, remember that you do know best and you don’t need to be bullied by any doctor.
Alice is America’s Healthy Lifestyle Coach and bestselling author. She shows people how to finally succeed at healthy eating, regular exercise and long-term weight loss in a way that is enjoyable and feels so good they stay motivated and can easily maintain their new changes. Receive her e- book “Feel Your Personal Best” with 9 tips for success. Claim your free gift at www.AHealthyLifestyleWorks. com/freegift
aspiremag.net
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69