Commitment: The Staple Ingredient in the Recipe for Recovery

[Connie Stapleton PhD 342]

Quit dancing around the subject and start using the STAPLE ingredient in the Recipe for Recovery: COMMITMENT. If you're guilty of doing the RECOVERY HOKEY POKEY, it's time to put your WHOLE SELF IN!

The Recovery Hokey Pokey

You put your right thigh in.

You put your right thigh out.

You put your right thigh in…

and it jiggles all about…

You do recovery hokey pokey and

it turns you inside out

Yhat’s what it’s all about!

Weight loss. There’s simply nothing like it. The pounds come off. You feel great. People notice how much “better” you look. The scale is showing numbers you haven’t seen since high school. And then…it stops. Everything stops. The great feeing…the compliments…the scale.

Maybe this “losing weight” thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be after all. What happens when all the excitement fades? What happens to the motivation? What happens to that “high” you felt when you jumped out of bed to greet the day each morning at the beginning of the weight loss adventure? What happens to the excitement of doing exercises you’ve never been able to do before?

Oh – reality! Yes, reality and the ordinariness of life sets in and now you don’t feel so inspired to do the things you need to do to get what you say you want. You know – improved health and a better quality of life. Those are the reasons most people (initially) state as their reasons for having weight loss surgery.

“I don’t think I’ll work out today because…I’m tired and deserve to sleep-in.”

“Maybe I’ll workout tonight, after work, when the kids are asleep.”

“Gosh! I had a long day, and the kids are down…maybe I should get some sleep while I can. I’ll exercise in the morning.”

“You know, I haven’t eaten anything ‘bad’ in a long time; I ‘deserve’ a little treat for all of my hard work. I’ll just have a little bowl of something sweet.”

“I’m really hungry. Maybe I’ll just eat the other half.”

“Who brought the donuts? I wonder if there’s a “plain” one in there…that wouldn’t be so bad.”

Sound familiar? Your enthusiasm wanes, then your motivation flies out the window, and whammo! You’ve lost enthusiasm for the commitment you made to your healthy recovery. What happened? What is commitment, anyway?

A commitment is a promise you make to yourself to do something or to be loyal to someone or something. We love the definition of commitment from Urban Dictionary:

“Commitment is what transforms the promise into reality.

It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions.

And the actions which speak louder than the words.

It is making the time when there is none.

Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year.

Commitment is the stuff character is made of;

The power to change the face of things.

It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.”

by Ashbash January 13, 2005

Your commitment to living a healthy lifestyle can be a promise you make to yourself, to your children, or to your entire family. Commitments that you write down and share with others are more likely to be maintained. Stating your commitment to your healthy lifestyle every day (out loud is best) will remind you of the promises you made to follow through with the behaviors that result in improved health and a better quality of life – the reasons you chose to have weight loss surgery.

SO – when you wake up each morning, maybe sing this version of the Recovery Hokey Pokey:

I put my whole self in.

I put my old habits out.

I put my best effort in…

And I get good results out!

I stop recovery hokey pokey –

And I get rid of all self-doubt!

THAT’s what it’s all about!

Are you singing the Blues or Happy Days in your Recovery? Tune into the June APODCast on June 17, and you just might hear The Doc might sing The Recovery Hokey Pokey.

[Alex Brecher 10,516]

Thanks for this article!

Yes, thinking of yourself as being “all in” is necessary! You have to identify yourself as being the person who eats healthy and lives healthy, not just someone who is currently going through those actions. It’s something that helps you stay on track, and it’s something that helps you get back on track if you get off briefly.

I think you can eventually have the occasional treat, but I agree with you it’s not healthy to think things like, “I can be bad now because I’ve been good for so long.” I like to think of it more as a part of my normal life, as in, “I really want to eat ice cream. How can I fit this into my diet? I can have a couple of spoonfuls tomorrow night as long as I make sure not to have any other sugary foods during the day.”