Back to Basics

A few years ago my friend Stephanie wanted to lose about 75 pounds. She tried every diet out there, went to aerobics class 3 nights a week, and imagined how she would look minus the 75 pounds. Despite her enthusiasm, however, she failed every time.

She blamed the diets, the aerobics class, and her hectic work schedule. Worst of all, she blamed herself. I never saw a person’s self-esteem sink so low in such a short period of time. She cycled through periods of “Yes, I can do this!” to “I’m such a loser,” every few months.

Stephanie overcomplicated things. She would talk about portions, and after such-and-such week she could eat this, and then she would move on to the next step of the program which would open up a whole new set of possibilities, ad infinitum.

She forgot about the basics. She had gotten so far off track that each time she failed she found it more difficult to rediscover her original commitment. This frustrated her; she lost her focus and panicked.

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