Knowing what to eat, how to think
and when to exercise are great ways for keeping you on the path to your
success. However, knowing what you’re up against and that there is going to be opposition
is a very critical tool to have indeed.
I find that the moment you start
to diet or care for your health, everyone has an opinion or a piece of advice
to offer you to help you. Though their help is good and often sound, nobody
wants to be bombarded by unsolicited advice.
I am here to tell you, it is going
to happen, whether you want it to or not. People who have been successful with
their diets, people who follow the hype on TV, or the latest diet trend/ fact
are going to tell you about it. They are going to offer you their tips for
success.
Personally I would say, “IGNORE IT ALL! It's all a bunch of hogwash!” However,
that's not a great tone to take with someone trying to give you advice. After
all, you never know when it might be good advice and good for you.
Nevertheless, keep this in mind: it is your diet, not theirs. Take
their advice and keep it in your mental notes. Thank them for their help and
support and that you will look into it. If you don't want their advice you can
simply tell them, “Thank you, I
appreciate your advice and I will take it in consideration, but for now I am
going to stick with my plan.” If they continue, you can simply nod and
smile. After all they are only trying to help.
In addition to this, you will be
up against yourself. There will be days that you don't want to diet, you don't
want to workout, you don't want to do anything but lay on the couch and pet a
cat. You may get depressed that perhaps your weight loss isn't as progressive
as you like. When this happens it is a good idea to measure yourself, because
even if the weight isn't coming off, maybe your body is just reshaping itself.
Like your weight, keep track of how many inches you've lost. It might just be
the rewarding news you need to push you forward.
“But what if I haven't lost any weight, and my measurements are the
same?” Well, that's life. However, don't let it get you down. When this
happens it is a good idea to re-evaluate your plan, and what you are eating.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Have I been doing everything I can to consume the right
amount of calories every day?
- Did I consume enough fiber, every day?
- Did I consume enough protein, every day?
- Did I consume enough potassium, every day to balance out my
sodium?
- Did I keep my sodium low, every day?
- Did I keep my fats low, every day?
- Did I keep my carbohydrates low, every day?
- Did I keep my sugars low, every day?
- Did I drink enough water?
- Did I do enough exercise?
- Did I vary my exercise levels?
- Have I pooped regularly every day? (see Chapter 3)
If you answered “No” to any of
these questions, then those are the areas you need to focus on and look into.
If you answered “Yes” to every single question above I want you to ask yourself
this:
What is my level of Will Power?
If your
Will Power is in the lower levels, it is time to find out
why. In the end it might be more in your head then it is in your body. When you
are not losing the weight or inches you want to, and you are doing everything
to make it happen, you can hit a brick wall of depression. It is at this time
that you need to do some research about what you are eating and what you are
doing to get you back on the path to success. It is a good time to look at your
goal and remind yourself that it is what you are working towards. Whenever I
got down in the dumps to my lack of success, I reminded myself of the dress
size I wanted to be. I then looked at where I was on my path to that dress size
and attempted to analyze what it would take to reach my goal. In the end it
meant that I had to do some harder work and some deeper motivation to not give
up and stay the course. My best motivation tool of all was and is music.
Nothing can inspire or motivate
you more like music. If you have access to music and can make your own play-list
or mixed CD, do it. Find songs that will help boost your spirits into taking
charge of your health. I found songs like Journey's “Don't Stop Believing,” and
the musical Wicked's “Defy Gravity,” are great motivating songs. Now they may
not be your musical tastes, but I know that there are hundreds, possibly even
millions of songs out there about positive motivation. I recommend opening a
Spotify account or Pandora to find new music that will help you get into the
beat
When you create your own playlist
remember that these are songs should inspire you to move forward and to stay
the course. When you’re done, pick one song to be your anthem. This will be
your own personal reverie!
Excellent! Now it is time to
motivate you a little more with a little reward. There is nothing better then a
dangling carrot or the light at the end of the tunnel to help push you to your
next level of success. Think of it as a Mini Goal or even a personal oath you
are going to take with yourself. Every time you feel as though you are up against all odds with your success
and are not going anywhere in your diet plan, I want you to give yourself a
reward to work towards with two weeks to earn it. This reward can be anything
(try to avoid fast foods though, because they can put you right back into the
negative the following day). Treats can be as easy as material items like new
cloths or even a single yummy desert. A simple desert can be just what the
doctor ordered.
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| Enlarge, print out, fill in and place it where you will look at it everyday. |
Now that you have made this oath,
renew it and update it every time you feel as though you can't go on. Another
thing you can do to help motivate your spirits, is taking a full length photo
of yourself, and comparing it to a photo of you at the beginning of your diet.
A picture can say a thousand words and help you to physically see the progress
you have made. This should help you make it to your goal with leaps and bounds,
and before you know it, you're a size smaller and emotionally richer for it.
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| This photo was my progress from 235 lbs to 190, back in 2009-2010. This is 4 months of progress. |
