Willingness to Change

Before my wife and I were married the clergyman performing the ceremony gave us personality inventory surveys. This is a survey where you are asked many questions and are given a range of answers to choose from. One example would be as follows:
Q: When driving to work every day you choose to:
A) Take the same, known route every day.
B) Try different routes to see if you can find one that is best, and then settle on that one.
C) Take different routes all the time for the sake of variety.
D) Point the car in any old direction and let it do its thing.

My wife turned out to be a person who likes to be cautious and do the safe and predictable. I, on the other hand, fit the profile of the "Commandant". I had to be in charge, telling everyone else how to do things.

I wasn't surprised at my outcome. I do tend to think that I am the Tsar of the World and that all other people are laboring on this planet for the sake of my amusement. My wife keeps reminding me that the world doesn't revolve around me, and I'm always stunned to realize that she's right.

I was kind of surprised at her results. I know that no one would ever characterize her as wild and crazy, but she can be pretty adventurous. For example, she she is always willing to try all ethnic cuisines: Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, West African, Caribbean, etc. On the other hand, there are some limits there. Whenever we have Indian food, she tends to like to order the same two or three dishes: chicken tikki masala, saag paneer, lamb pasanda. She tends to shy from branching out to new items if it means not being able to get her favorites. And while she likes using our meal replacement bars to help curb her appetite, she eats the same bar every time (Peanut Butter Crunch bar).

My wife is a very reasonable person, one capable of self reflection, who can recognize when something she's doing isn't working for her and needs to be changed in order to reach a desired result.

It's too bad that more weight loss patients can't come to the same conclusions. It is surprising how many people are displeased with their weight, but not willing to examine what habits they have in their lives that led to them becoming that weight and what they would have to do to change it.

For example, when it comes to eating the weight loss plans that work the best emphasize taking small, frequent meals. This includes eating breakfast. There are many reasons why these plans are more effective at helping people lose weight, but I will list the most important reasons:

1. Frequent meals keep us from getting too hungry and therefore over-eating at a later time.
2. Our bodies can only process a limited amount of calories at any given time. Once one exceeds the 400-600 calorie limit, the body immediately stores extra calories as fat.

The second part of that is critical for I've seen patients who eat 1500 calories a day gain weight simply because they eat two big meals throughout the day rather than others who spread it over six smaller meals.

When we discuss meal plans with our patients many of the react by saying: "I can't do that! I don't eat breakfast!" or "I can't stop eating fast food three times a day!" or "I can't wake up half an hour earlier just to exercise, because I don't do that now!"

There is a study in the current issue of the Journal of Obesity. It looked at patients who were having Lap Band surgery. It required that these patients undergo the same psychological profile testing that my wife and I took before their insurance companies would pay for the surgery. The main point of the test is to assess the patients' willingness to make lifestyle changes. Presumably if a patient isn't willing to change any of their habits then they won't succeed in losing weight after the surgery.

This study found just the opposite. Readiness to change in no way correlated with how well people did after the surgery. The authors concluded the profile assessment for patients was a waste of time.

Should we be surprised? Think about patient who want surgery. In general, they want a quick fix with the knife. Change the way they eat? Exercise? Either they can't envisage doing it or they have made some attempts and discovered that they can't. They would rather have a surgeon alter their God-given anatomy and lose some pounds, and any changes that they make are enforced on them by the nature of the surgery.

It is interesting that this study only followed the Lap Band patients for two years. I have seen many patients who had surgery, didn't change anything in their lifestyle, and have regained the weight. Ultimately the body can readjust to the effects of the surgery and if nothing else has changed, well...funny how that problem reoccurs.

Change. It isn't just a political slogan. If you have habits that have led you to develop a problem such as excess weight, you need to look within yourself to find out what you are doing wrong. Ask yourself what you have to do to change it. We can help, but without that willingness to examine oneself there is only so much that we can do.