It doesn’t have to be ALL or NOTHING! Many of us start on a weight loss or exercise program and go gang busters for the first week and then there’s nothing left. We do this because we want instant gratification. We want to see all those pounds that we’ve accumulated over the years melt off in 1 week. Guess what!? It isn’t going to happen.
It is great to be enthusiastic and work hard to realize your goals. But it’s important to remember that what you want, in the end, is to sustain the results you achieve. If you go on an all grapefruit diet, yes you may lose a bunch of weight, but guess what? It’s going to come right back on when you go back to the way you used to eat.
Why not make changes you can live with for the long haul? It doesn’t mean you have to eat carrots at every snack and never have your beloved chocolate again! It means making adjustments to your lifestyle so that you are eating better and getting more active with each day. Enabling you to enjoy your life more.
This means that the pounds may not melt off your body like liquid. THAT’S OKAY! Typically the longer it takes you to slim down and tone up, the greater chance you have at maintaining the changes you’ve made. The hard part about this is motivation. That’s why you need to look at your goals and really find out what is important. It’s why vanity reasons rarely keep us sticking to our goals. It’s also a reason to find food you really love and activities you really enjoy so you can have fun on your journey.
As you travel through your program think about all the successes that you are achieving along the way. Think about the energy you now have that you didn’t before. Think about how your skin looks and feels better because you’re providing your body with nutrients you weren’t before. Think about how happy you’re making your kids and your loved ones because you can DO things with them. There are so many other reasons to lose weight and get in shape than what you look like.
Everything in moderation. You do still have to make changes and you do still have to stick to a plan, but you work them in so that they become your new habits. It’s all about creating healthy habits that you can live with and enjoy. There are tons of cook books and online tools to help you learn how to prepare delicious food that is good for you. Learning portion control is easy once you get started. Knowing what you really want to “indulge” in will be clear.
Take a step to live a healthier, happier, longer life that you can really enjoy. Get off the rollercoaster of diets and exercise fads that keep you going up and down and continually frustrated.
Make a commitment to make one change today. What’s it going to be?
