Changing Ourselves QS1

Recovery from obesity requires a great deal of change at the personality level. These changes can be put into categories like nutrition, philosophy or religion, psychology, psychological knowledge and other categories. An obese person does not know what they need to learn to recover. After recovery, we do not know  what concepts we needed to learn to maintain recovery, and when we start to slide back, what did we forget? Or what did we quit doing? Or what additional things do we need to learn?

Recover is a ongoing learning process of self discovery, self actualization, self fulfilment, and it does not end at normal weight. It is more difficult to maintain than lose, as recovery goes from an active stage to maintenance stage.

1. Before we can get a good foothold into the program, we need to take step 0, giving up the addicting foods or addiction like foods. No SGO6EE. We need to separate the chemical addiction from the behavioural addictions, and address both.
2. We need to develop enough fixity of spirit to follow a reasonable food program.
3. We need to adopt a reasonable food program.
4. We need to be able to adjust our food program on the fly.
5. We need to do spiritual development.
6. And we need ongoing support, which I found in weekly OA meetings.

Change itself can be broken in 5 steps, first precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. I will add that change requires willingness first, therefore change has 6 steps, willingness, precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.

Willingness involves identification that we have a problem, and that we would like to solve the problem, to the point of some recovery. I personally check that I am willing to recover, willing to what is necessary for recovery, and that I am willing to what action is required each day.

Precontemplation is a stage before we make a decision to do something. This may vary from apathy to the knoledge that we have a problem, through uncertainty as to what to do, through exploring the possibilities.

Contemplation involves some serious learning and perhaps detailed exploring the options, perhaps a decision as to which option to select. It may involve exploring the cost and time involved, and perhaps an ideally, what success looks like.

Preparation may included learning what must be done, getting the new supplies in stock, disposing of the old. Development of a food program, menus, quantities, and similar, as well as purchase of food stuffs may be included. Preparation may also include spiritual development, in terms of development of sufficient spiritual rigidity to follow your food program.

Action is the doing, the follow through, of the food program one meal at a time, with enough good life between each meal.  For today, and just for today. Action includes a morning planning secession, review of the plan, and daily/weekly reinforcement.

Maintenance includes modification to the food plan, learning additional spiritual concepts to keep you strong on the fixity of spirit, and exploring other concepts that may be of use. To go where we have never been before, to explore, and to learn about ourselves.