Summer Weight Loss Dreams

Today I finally spent 20 minutes playing on the bowflex in an attempt to get back on track with my summer weight loss exercising. All week I'd been planning to restart the Monday, Wednesday, Friday bowflex schedule AND do some sort of aerobic exercise on the other days. My good intentions were worthless.

I realized while journaling that my dreams for summer weight loss all involve me doing things I don't usually do. That's a prescription for failure. Why would an intelligent MultiPurposeWoman, like myself, set herself up to fail? That's a question worth exploring.

Super Woman Syndrome

The quick answer to, “Why do intelligent women set themselves up for failure?” is Super Woman Syndrome. The features of this pervasive and happiness-sapping syndrome include, I-can-do-anything-itis, Just-Do-It-oma, and Ms-Celebrity-did-it-osis. The cause of this all is unrealistic expectations.

I-can-do-anything-itis

You know you have I-can-do-anything-itis when you hear about some wonderful new diet or other life enhancement and immediately add it to your already overflowing “to do” list. Another sign is that you seldom, if ever, look at all your commitments. A third sign is that you seldom say, “No.” People ask you to do something and you add it to that list.

The cure for I-can-do-anything-itis? Remember and repeat as needed the inspirational quote, “I can do anything. I just can't do everything.”

Just-Do-It-oma

You know you have Just-Do-It-oma when you frequently upbraid yourself for not having “just ” finished everything on your plate”. You give yourself a hard time for only having 16 conscious hours in a day. You go to bed after a full and productive day and worry that you didn't do enough. You feel bad if you didn't accomplish something every waking moment.

The cure for Just-Do-It-oma? Just give yourself a break. Literally, stop, drop down into a comfortable seat (or bed), and do nothing for 15 minutes at least once a day. After your break (if you still feel the need to justify your existence) make a quick list of what you have completed so far for the day. To be fair you have to list everything that took up time.

Ms-Celebrity-did-it-osis

You know you suffer from this abnormal condition when you compare your progress to that of some celebrity or other person whose situation is different from yours. Can you wake up one morning and pledge to start a gluten-free, vegan, no alcohol, no caffeine diet? Sure you can. Can you stick to that diet for 21 days? Most likely not unless you have a lot of support and you took time to prep for the lifestyle change.

The cure for Ms-Celebrity-did-it-osis? Time and planning. If some celebrity touts some fabulous sounding get-some-part-of-your-life-together plan and you really think it'll revolutionize your life for the better then slow down and plan to slowly incorporate it into your life.

A multiPurposeWoman experiment – Can I follow my own advice?