Introduction Let me introduce you to what I call my weight loss compass.
Webster's dictionary list several meanings for the word compass, but let's examine just a few: 1) to grasp mentally; understand; comprehend 2) to reach successfully; achieve; accomplish (to compass one's ends) and 3) any of various instruments for showing direction, especially one consisting of a magnetic needle swinging freely on a pivot and pointing to the magnetic north.
The Compass You may be thinking how in the world does a compass apply to weight loss.
Just as any sailor at sea needs to use a compass to chart a safe passage to the destination, so too, do people that need or want to lose weight, need to chart a course to lose the weight, 10 pounds in 10 days, or any other amount of desired weight loss.
The compass instrument has four points: north, south, east and west.
Using just the the first letter of each of the compass points, lets see how these can be used to help you chart a course for weight loss.
North/N = Need North/N points to the need.
First, you must establish why you need to lose weight.
Is your blood pressure too high? Do your hip, knee and ankle joints hurt under the weight of those extra pounds? Does climbing a single flight of stairs leaving you breathless? Maybe you want to fit into a bathing suit or get back into your favorite pair of jeans.
Perhaps you have a very special occasion coming up like your daughter's wedding or a class reunion.
Whatever your need is, the first step is to identify and chart that need.
South/S = Self Another point of the compass is South/S: south points to self.
Before you can lose any weight, you have to deal with yourself.
There are several members of the self family including self-consciousness, self-control, self-esteem, self-evidence and self-restraint.
The fact that you are here means that to some degree you are already dealing with self-consciousness and self-evidence.
In other words, you are aware of your need to lose weight as it is obvious, apparent and visible.
You also may be dealing with some issues of self-esteem, although these issues are not quite as clear as the self-evidence.
Perhaps you feel some guilt when you go for the second helping of food or reach for a luscious, calorie loaded dessert and maybe you are embarrassed about your weight.
Whatever your self-esteem reasons, they are largely due to the fact that you have not dealt with the issues of self-control and self-restraint.
We all have self-control and self-restraint, but for whatever reasons, we do not always use them when it comes to over-eating and weight loss.
Only you, by taking time to look within yourself, can you identify the issues of self at work in your life and chart these areas for improvement.
West/W = Weight The next point on our compass is West/W: west points to weight.
This might be called our reality check.
It is here that we must confront the facts about our weight.
How much do I weigh? Based upon my height and age group, what is my ideal weight? Subtracting my ideal weight from actual weight, I can figure how many pounds I need to lose.
What is my waist measurement? What does that have to do with anything? Another reality check is my BMI.
What's that? It's called your Body Mass Index and basically tells you how much fat you have on your body.
Good grief, do I really need to know this? Yes.
It is important that you understand and face the facts so that you can chart your course.
East/E = Exercise Finally, the last point of our compass is East/E: east points to exercise.
I call it the big E because it is so very important to our overall well being and critical to weight loss.
Like food, it needs to be an integral part of our daily regimen.
Unlike food, it is for most of us, hit or miss.
Could we use a little dose of self-control here? Really, once you make the effort and get into the exercise, its not so bad and when completed, you almost immediately feel the benefits physically and the self-esteem gets a boost as well.
In summary, start your weight loss compass by charting your north, south, west and east.
A guide that may be helpful, can be found at http://www.
weightlosscompass.
com.