Losing Weight Won't Make You Happy
by Amanda Jane Snyder
Losing weight won't make you happy. It's not going to solve all your problems. Losing weight is not going to be the reason you get your dream job or succeed in your career or find the partner of your dreams.
And booking your dream job, succeeding in your career and finding the partner of your dreams also won't make you happy.
Which is why when you lost 1 pound in 1 month, this wasn't good enough for you. You felt disappointed, discouraged, and like you wanted to quit. And so you did quit. And gained that 1 pound right back and maybe then some.
You're so focused on the outcome of reaching a certain weight that you're not proud of the progress that you HAVE made.
Nothing will ever be good enough for you if nothing is ever good enough for you.
Why? Because once you achieve your goals you'll find something else to focus on. You'll find some other problem that you'll feel "if only I had this I'd be happy."
If only I lost 5 pounds instead of 1.
If only I had more money.
If only I had more free time.
If only I lived in a nicer home.
If only I had a partner.
That's the problem with the intellect of human beings. We're so smart and so ambitious. We want to be the best. We want to achieve something great. We want to have meaning in our lives. So when we achieve something slowly... it's not good enough. We want more.
OR when we achieve that thing we've been looking to achieve for years and we finally achieve it, we're not impressed. We're not impressed because it's ours. We unconsciously think to ourselves, if I could achieve this... then it must not be that good.
Losing weight won't make you happy.
Sure you might have a moment of joy when you reach your goal weight, but what happens when the weight loss plateaus? What happens when the wedding is over and you no longer are just trying to look good for the pictures? What happens when the compliments die down and no one acknowledges you in that way anymore? You'll lose motivation to keep up with the routine that helped you to lose all the weight. And you'll go back to your old ways and you'll again, find other problems and other reasons to be unhappy. You may even find that after the weight loss, the same problems and stressors still remain.
So what's the recipe for happiness?
Happiness is so multifaceted. It definitely comprises more of just our body shape and size. But let me ask you...WHY do you want to lose weight? Is it to feel better? Is it to have more energy? Is it relieve pain? Is it to fit better into your clothes? It is to reduce chronic inflammation? It is to make daily life tasks feel easier and less out of breath? Is it to have a healthy pregnancy or set a good example for your kids? What is your WHY? Your deep why that has nothing to do with appearances and has nothing to do with external validation or society's expectations of you.
If we focus our pursuits on results that have no timeline, outcomes that result in an overall better quality of life, then achieving these goals may actually bring us happiness. Doing something because it genuinely results in feeling better, can create feelings of joy. Creating habits, systems and routines around healthy habits will ultimately result in us feeling good. Because if those habits, systems and routines give us more energy, relieve chronic pain, prevent and reduce injury, help us to fit comfortably in our clothes... then we will have greater joy in our lives!
Losing weight won't make you happy.
But the consistency, determination, structured lifestyle may.
Amanda Jane Snyder is a Certified Nutrition Coach, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Corrective Exercise Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer, and Mindset Coach living in Brooklyn, NY. She has been vegan since 2016. She specializes in Strength and Conditioning for Actors, Singers, and Dancers.
Comments / 2