Have you ever found yourself wanting something SO badly that you think about it constantly? The type of thing you want with every fiber of your being and yet you feel like you can’t do anything about it? You feel frozen, stuck, and unable to take the next step to get you to where you want to be. That feeling of analysis paralysis and going NOWHERE.
To be honest, most of my life I haven’t related to this feeling… Like AT ALL. I mean, I’m your typical Miss Type A. My thought process has pretty much always been that if you want something, you go get it! If there’s a problem, you solve it. So I never really understood this feeling of wanting something SO badly and at the same time not actively working towards it… until the day I got my air fryer, Nancy (yes, I named her Nancy – she’s the best).
And in this blog I’m diving into my personal experience with analysis paralysis, what I learned from it, and how it might be the reason you’re struggling in your weight loss journey. So let’s get to it!
If you’d rather watch/listen, you can catch these Instagram lives:
Don’t Know Where to Start in Your Weight Loss Journey?
Why You Still Haven’t Started Your Weight Loss Journey
If you want to read this… well, keep reading! 😉
My First Experience with Analysis Paralysis
Remember when air fryers first started being THE thing to get?! Well I was OBSESSED. I was watching aaaall the Instagram stories and Pinterest recipes. People were air-frying the shit out of cauliflower and I wanted in on it, BAD. Hell, I talked about getting one for almost an entire YEAR when finally my mom decided to just get one for me. Her Christmas present was simple: all I had to do was pick out the air fryer I wanted, send her the link, and she’d get it delivered to my front door.
I was STOKED. But when the time to pick one came, I froze. The analysis paralysis took over. It took me FOREVER to get around to choosing one until I eventually had to force myself to get my shit together and send her the link. And once Nancy finally arrived, I was so nervous I literally left her unopened in the corner of my kitchen.
Major Lightbulb Moment
I was so afraid of using it “wrong”, that I didn’t even want to open the damn thing. And this analysis paralysis was a major lightbulb moment for me… It was the first time I could relate to those of you who have struggled with starting your weight loss journey even though you want it SO badly. I mean I talked about wanting that air fryer so much that everybody and their brother knew about it.
But when I finally got it I completely froze, and maybe that’s what your weightloss journey has been like. You talk about wanting to do it all the time and hell, maybe you even bought a gym membership, but you continue not to use it… And the reason? The INSTANT overwhelm of starting something you’ve thought about for so long feels like too much. Which leads to the first of three reasons you might be struggling to start your weight loss journey…
1. You Don’t Know Where to Start
When I first got Nancy, I realized I had no idea where to start or what to do (the analysis paralysis kicked in) and in my overwhelm I picked the only logical choice: do nothing. Just leave it in the box.
And weight loss can be a lot like that too. You’re focusing on not knowing how it’s going to go and where to even begin, and you decide that it’s probably going to be a complete shit show… so why start? It feels so much EASIER to stay where you’re at, rather than taking any steps forward to what you really want.
The opportunity could literally be at your front door, yet you freeze. And I finally get it. I did the same when my air fryer first arrived, but let me tell ya – when I finally snapped myself out of it, found the user manual, and made some bomb ass tater tots, I went from feeling overwhelmed to thinking “WHERE HAS THIS BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE?” Literally, I clicked two buttons, didn’t have an oven to preheat, and I made some damn good tater tots! It was so much easier than I thought it would be.
So if the reason you’re feeling stuck is because you don’t know where to start, consider finding your version of a user manual. Find someone who can give you a road map and help you figure it out. Whether that’s a coach (shameless plug, you can apply here), someone at your gym, or a friend that’s done it before, find someone that can support you and help you focus on one step at a time.
2. You Think it’ll Be Way Worse than it Really Will Be
Feel like you actually do know where to start, but still feel stuck? Maybe you know the basics of what you need to do in order to lose weight, but you just keep putting off your start date. I see this ALL the time with women that come to me knowing what they need to do but struggling to actually move forward. Want to know the most common reason? You’re catastrophizing it in your mind.
You’ve already decided the process is going to SUCK. You think it’s going to be really hard and unsustainable, and you’re convinced that your entire life is going to be flipped upside down. That sounds TERRIBLE. But one thing I can guarantee you is that it’s never as bad as you think it’s going to be. And the worst case scenario? You try something, it doesn’t go super well and you LEARN something you can take in your next step forward. The longer you catastrophize it in your mind, the more you’ll be convinced it’s a sucky thing and the longer you’ll stay stuck.
Imagine with me for a second… what if you tried it and it didn’t suck? I know, MIND BLOWING, but most likely it won’t. One of the most common things I hear from clients is “I wish I had started sooner.” So if you’re not starting because of all this worry and fear, find someone to help hold you accountable to just start the dang thing already. The worst that could happen is you learn what’s not for you and move on to something that IS.
3. You’re focusing on all you’re going to lose, instead of what you’ll gain
If you’ve been around for a while you’ll know about my sweet pup Diego! When we first started the process of actually getting him, I got cold feet real bad. I had wanted a puppy FOREVER, and yet the moment it became more than a dream to have him, I was so nervous. I started thinking about everything I would lose – thoughts like “I can’t sleep all night. When will I ever be able to take a weekend trip again? And oh my gosh he’s going to poop on the floor.” I felt like life as I knew it was over. I was so focused on everything I would lose that I lost sight of WHY I wanted to get a puppy in the first place.
And it’s the same for many people with their weight loss journey. When we’re facing big changes, we instantly focus on all the things we’re going to lose instead of all that we have to gain. You think margaritas with friends are out the door and you start wondering if there’s a diet that will allow you to still eat cheese because you can’t possibly live without cheese (trust me, I feel you on this one)… And you spiral into this state of doubt, doom, and gloom and suddenly it feels like it’s not actually worth it. We think a weight loss journey means losing everything.
The truth is, you will lose some of it… You’re going to lose going out and slamming six jumbo margaritas with your friends and waking up feeling like crap the next day. You’re going to lose the bliss of ignorance as to what’s in your food and what’s on your plate. But you know what? You’re also going to gain things that will outweigh all of this.
Don’t Believe Me?
Dream with me for a second… What if you woke up and could pick ANYTHING to wear from your closet because it ALL fits? You could wear it because you LIKE it and because you WANT to. What if you could pull your jeans out of the dryer and not think “ohhh f*** I dried these and they’re not going to fit for hours!”? Or if you could slide them on without feeling like an ungraceful Cirque du Soleil performer? What if it was hot outside and you could throw on a tank top? Or spend all day in your bikini? Whatever YOUR dream vision is, you can have it. And when you start to feel overwhelmed and discouraged, remember WHY you wanted to start in the first place.
A weight loss journey isn’t about doing it perfectly. It’s not about picking something that’s so hard that it flips your whole life upside down. It’s about finding something that works for YOU to achieve your goals in a way that is sustainable, enjoyable, and that ultimately makes you feel GOOD! It’s about overcoming the analysis paralysis! As always, if you have questions feel free to send me a DM on Instagram and if you’re ready to get help in finally taking the first step, I’ve got you! Fill out this form and let’s get started.
