The Vicious and Virtuous Cycles of Weight

A person wakes up on their 50th birthday and steps onto a scale.

They declare, “I have 50 pounds to lose.”

It feels incredibly daunting.

It means they have to start doing some things differently. That alone doesn’t feel too daunting. But they already feel exhausted most days. They also struggle with their mood more often than not. And they’re not very confident in their ability to lose weight.

They feel like they’re standing at the base of a mountain with a bad back, their hands tied behind their back, and bad weather looming. It would be challenging to hike this mountain with everything going for them. But this feels like a challenge on top of a challenge on top of a challenge.

Because weight problems are a vicious cycle.

It usually starts when a person is feeling fairly good. Then maybe they eat more and more junk food. Or maybe they slide into a sedentary lifestyle. Then they gain a little weight. Being a little out of shape and carrying around a little extra weight saps their energy a little. And their mood takes a hit. And they’re not quite as socially confident as they were before. Everything feels a little harder. And they might even be a little less empowered than they were before.

All of this is relatively subtle at first. But it’s a new challenge. And it makes it a little harder to do the things that tend to help a person maintain weight harmony. They want to make positive food choices. They want to exercise. But they’re increasingly tired. Increasingly down. And decreasingly socially confident.

A little. Then a little more. Then a little more.

The vicious cycle continues.

Five extra pounds turn into 10. Ten extra pounds turn into 15. Fifteen extra pounds turn into 20.

All the while, it feels harder and harder to do something about it.

To boot, pop culture shouts dumb ideas at them from every angle:

“Cut out all carbohydrate.”

“Do boot-camp classes. Every day. No exception.”

“If you don’t measure everything you eat, you’re never going to lose weight.”

“I run five miles a day. Year-round. It’s the only way.”

They’re struggling to take any action, and they’re being told the only way for them to lose weight is to go to extremes.

So they keep putting it off.

It’s just too daunting.

Eventually, they summon the gumption to try an extreme thing. Of course, they fail. It was like putting someone who can’t yet do algebra in a calculus class.

This leaves them with even less confidence in their ability to lose weight.

“I can’t do this. I suck at this. I’m just a fat person. I’m just always going to be a fat person,” they conclude.

They’re firmly stuck in the vicious cycle of weight problems.

Are you ready for the good news?

There’s a way out.

It starts with taking small steps that work well for you. Maybe it’s shopping for and eating a little less junk food and a little more real food. Maybe it’s short walks. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. The key is taking small steps that seem relatively doable to you.

Do this for a week or two or three.

Completely drop the big goal. Don’t even think about it. It doesn’t matter if you have 20, 30, 40, 50, or 150 pounds to lose. It doesn’t matter. Let that go.

Simply take a few small steps for a few weeks.

This is how you enter the virtuous cycle of weight loss/maintenance/harmony.

In those few weeks, you’ll lose a pound. Maybe two. Maybe more.

And you’ll have an incredible feeling: “I did that.” You’ll finally have a foothold on the confidence that you can lose weight.

It’ll be small at first, but other light will be entering the darkness too. You’ll have a little more energy. Your mood will improve a little. You’ll have a little more social confidence.

You’ll be excited about losing a little weight and feeling a little better. You’ll be excited knowing you made it happen.

And you’ll want more.

With increasing energy, improving moods, and increasing social confidence, you’ll be motivated to keep going. To keep taking action. To lose a little more weight.

Just as the strain of weight gain begets more weight gain, the excitement of weight loss begets more weight loss, which can eventually turn into weight maintenance—and even weight harmony.

Just as the vicious cycle of weight gain makes things harder and harder over time, the virtuous cycle of weight loss/maintenance/harmony makes things easier and easier over time, until habitually living at an optimal weight for you becomes your new normal.

How does that sound?

It all starts by deciding to enter the virtual cycle by taking a few small steps.

It gains momentum as you notice and celebrate your successes, big and small, internal and external.

And the empowerment you develop in the process will spill into all areas of your life.

Weight isn’t static. Weight isn’t a state. Weight isn’t a moment in time.

In one direction or the other, your weight—your relationship with your weight—is a cycle that maintains itself.

Are you ready to enter the virtuous cycle of weight loss/maintenance/harmony?

If not now, when?

About Jason Gootman
Jason Gootman is a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach as well as a certified nutritionist and certified exercise physiologist. Jason helps people reverse and prevent type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other ailments with evidence-based approaches to nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, holistic wellness, and, most importantly, lasting behavior improvement and positive habit formation. As part of this work, Jason often helps people lose weight and keep it off, in part by helping them overcome the common challenges of yo-yo dieting and emotional eating. Jason helps people go from knowing what to do and having good intentions to consistently taking great care of themselves in ways that help them add years to their lives and life to their years.