The Courage to Change
Updated: Jul 30, 2021
Many feel our journey is about willpower, at one time I would have been inclined to agree. While there is an element of grit and tenacity that is required to succeed in sustaining weight loss, I feel the word that most appropriately describes the characteristic that empowers an individual to succeed in this endeavour of sustained lifestyle change is courage. Even, more so in our current landscape of food marketing and easy access. A few months ago a member shared this quote from Amelia Earhart with me.
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.
Amelia Earhart
Each one of these three sentences carries so much meaning in our journey; let’s take a moment to dissect them. First, the most difficult thing is decision to act as procrastination is what held me back and many from change for way too long. I continually put off the decision to act, waiting for a perfect time. Guess what? There is never a perfect time.
As we all know anyone can buy healthy groceries for a few weeks, white knuckle a week or even a month of no junk food, or buy a gym membership. It’s the follow through or the tenacity to commit to change long term that is essential. It’s this commitment to change deep inside of us that will see us through this this endeavor all the way through regardless or our circumstances and instead find ways of working within any challenges we may face.
The paper tiger reference is what struck me most, it’s a very fitting term for the long list of false fears and excuses we fabricate or exaggerate to distract or detract us from change. It’s our limbic brain (irrational brain), at MODA we refer to the limbic brain as Slick. Slick loves to keep us in the same state.
You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; while obesity is complex and has many factors, we control our diet; we can effect this change, and take ownership thankfully, as our cherished mentors (our parents, grandparents, influencers, teachers and mentors) have taught us.
With the right attitude the process and the procedure is its own reward. While I and many who take on this journey can recall many frustrating moments mainly in the early days, as we shift from our old habits into a new one. I’m sure they will say the process could very well be one of the most gratifying processes and procedures we have under gone. Are you ready to embark?
BY Tony Vassallo
In 2010, Tony was 37 years old, morbidly obese, with a host of medical issues: Type II diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, gout, joint pain, constant indigestion and acid reflux. Simple tasks like putting on socks, climbing a flight of stairs, fitting into an airplane seat or restaurant booth and getting out of bed were big challenges for him. Every afternoon, he would have a sugar crash, leaving him with little energy to get through the rest of the day. He was always sweaty and tired. He began avoiding the outdoors and eventually just avoiding life.
He lost 130 pounds in 2010-11 and has kept it off ever since. When he changed his lifestyle, the many medical issues he suffered—all of them—vanished.
Tony Vassallo Weight Loss Transformation
Founder of MODA Nutrition & Weight Loss.
Learn More at MODAforMen
Contact Tony: Tony@ModaNutrition.con
