When you have finally accepted the fact that changing yourself is going to be physically, psychologically and emotionally uncomfortable – the real battle can begin. You are now in the mindset that to accomplish permanent weight loss success you know that you need to look past quick fixes and short cuts. Congratulations. Too many people don’t make it this far. Even people who lack this mindset can attempt to journey through the three phases, but they usually don’t get that far.
Phase 1: Withdrawal (last up to 4 weeks) Expect to feel lethargic and tired during the withdrawal phase as your body does whatever it can to resist your new lifestyle. This is your body’s way of forcing you back to your old habits of convenience and comfort. Expect for hours to feel like days, days to feel like weeks and weeks to feel like months. Your first week is likely to be the hardest but the overall duration will depend on the contrast in between the old you and the new you. The bigger the change, the harder the struggle – but don’t let it hold you back. You can do this!
Phase 2: Challenge/Reward (last up to 12 months) Past your four weeks in the withdrawal phase, it all starts to come together. You body has given in to your new lifestyle and is thriving. You feel energized and results become more and more apparent. The trick here is to take it day by day, hour by hour, and stop looking ahead. If you start to think about what you have left to do, rather than what you have achieved, you are going to make this phase more painful than it really needs to be. Stay focused and on track.
Phase 3: Honeymoon The honeymoon phase will commence once weight maintenance and health is not your main focus anymore, but a part of your life, just like eating and sleeping. By this time your body is likely to have changed its previous weight set point and thus it will be easier for you to keep it off. You are also likely to experience a similar withdrawal like you did in phase one (if you stray from the path). And you know those workouts that killed you the first time around, well; you’ll kind of miss them.
Once you’ve given your body a new set of habits it will cling on to them just as firmly as it previously did with your old ones. And if you’ve got this far, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to trade the new you for anything! So well done, and make sure you keep at it!
Anders N W Lindgreen is a Swedish/Australian Fitness Specialist. Visit his website for free articles and e-books featuring the unbiased truth on Personal Fitness Training and Corporate Health and Fitness.