Beck's 4-day Win focuses on one behavior modification model in particular, the Transtheoretical Model, or Stages of Change. This is a behavioral change model developed by Prochaska and DiClemente'. They theorize that there are five stages of developing behaviors:
Pre-contemplation
Contemplation
Preparation
Action
Maintenance
Relapse*
Focusing on these stages in particular isn't the purpose of this blog however. You can google the model or authors and get the analytical background...I'd like to focus more on the power behind each stage and better understanding them, via Beck's 4-Day Win. Let's dive into the "why" and the "how." In the battle of weight loss, the two are inseparable.
Until I had my son, I never faced the weight-loss beast. I went from a lean 115lbs to a very pregnant 175lbs. My waist went from 25" to 42". Talk about some mind games! Within four days of his birth, I dropped 20lbs. I went from 155lb to 150 quickly...Down to 140 with relative ease, within 17 days of delivery. About a month a half later I was down to 133. Then I started training again: rowing and snatching. Needless to say, my milk supply dropped and I had to put my weight loss endeavors on hold for a bit. With clean eating and lots of walking, I was down to 128 by December (Connor was born in mid-July). But then the scale got stuck. I would float between 123 and 128, hopeful at 123 that I would very soon have my former body. But then, the scale would creep closer to 130lb and I'd get frustrated and disappointed. (At 5'2", on a good day, this weight isn't very forgiving.) I'd beat myself up, saying to myself that it was embarrassing that I was an elite coach, a trainer that has helped people get tight and strong bodies. What was the hang-up with myself?
In addition to the physical weight, the mental weight of the situation, daily, changed my attitude. I was becoming a different person. Resentful and sad. Two things I have also never been in my life. I was obsessed with losing weight. It consumed my day. How crazy, when I have so much more wonderful happenings in life! But, the scale and food ruled my days. I would go between being desperate to lose the weight to rational about needing to eat to supply milk for my babe.
I bought the Four-Day Win last summer. And for some reason didn't open it up until a few weeks ago. I may not have been ready for the book right away. I needed to fight the weight battle to better understand and appreciate the meat that lay in these pages.
After reading, I think the book would be better titled," The Power of the Watcher."
....now my husband is home from a long day of work (at 10:01 pm)....to be continued..again...
6 comments:
My copy is on it's way via Amazon-looking forward to getting it. What I "pre-read" on Amazon is very inspiring and informative. Hoping this helps to get me out of a rut or whatever it is that I'm in lately. I can't blame menopause forever!
I am one of the lucky persons who lost their pregnancy weight just from giving birth. But I remember that I was thinking that if I had to lose weight it would be very tough to do so with all those night feedings and being busy around the clock. So you can be so very proud of what you have accomplished so far - losing so much of your weight in the first few weeks. Many women hold on to some pounds while breastfeeding. I think that is what is happening to you - the pounds are probably going to melt away when you nurse less frequently. I have recently read that the act of breastfeeding causes temporary insulin spikes which might be the cause of the iability to lose body fat - maybe it would help to reduce extra pumping to a minimum? Please keep in mind, those 10 pounds you are unhappy about are probably visible to no one else but you, to everyone else you look lean and strong!
Sara,
I'm half-way through this book and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!
I'm enjoying her sense of humor big time-I think we'd get along great!
But her message has lifted a monkey off my back-one I didn't even realize was there!
Thanks for the post(s)!
Sara, I am now waiting on the edge of my seat for the follow-up post. I find the mind-games the little bit of extra weight was playing with you fascinating and can't wait to "hear" where this goes. THANK YOU for sharing.
I wish I had read this post earlier - thanks in large part to our work together, I was fit before and during my pregnancy. After is a whole other story - I think you posted 'patience and persistence' on your FB page today, and that really nails it. I visualize myself getting there, keep working at it and realize that having a baby is a life-changing (and body-changing) experience and that I need to focus on staying healthy and on what I'm doing for my daughter until she is ready to wean. Some days are definitely better than others.
Wow. Thank you so much for sharing this. I have to go cook dinner for my two boys (3 yrs and 19 months) so I only got to read this post, but tonight at bedtime I will go back and read some more.
I just wanted to say thank you for your honesty. I am 5'2" also and was 118 when I got pregnant with my first one. I was pregnant or nursing for 3 years straight as my two boys are 18 months apart and could not do much to lose the weight in between that I desperately wanted to lose because when I worked out my milk stopped completely. I was able to get it back with baby 1 but not number 2 even though I only worked out very, very lightly with him.
Now I am pregnant with baby number 3 and to be honest though I am stoked about this little one, I get so discouraged about my body. My confidence is all but gone and I can't take any more comments from those that knew me when I was tiny about how big I am now.
To read this post I was greatly encouraged and it gave me a new drive that for now my body is my baby's but there will be a day that I will be able to focus on getting it back and also to know that I am not alone.
Thanks again and sorry for the long comment.
Sarah Brown
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