Making a decision to loose weight is a big step. It requires more than just the decision to live a better life style. Obviously, that decision is an important one as well. But the decision for a healthier lifestyle represents small changes over a long period of time. And while each lifestyle choice has the potential for improving your life, the failure to implement a single aspect of the change may or may not have a significant impact on your daily activities. Adjustments are easy and the changes are far reaching. Dieting is a little different.
While it is true that many lifestyle changes can result in weight loss. The resulting weight loss will be minor and many times a slight misstep can result in weight gain rather than loss. I have known people who lost weight by making simple lifestyle changes and I have heard of some who lost a great amount of weight by making slight lifestyle changes, but that didn't work for me. I took more than just a few lifestyle changes; at almost 240 pounds I needed something much more dramatic than a few small changes. The realization of that is what brought me to make the effort to determine more than just how to loose weight but what it would really take for me to loose the weight and keep it off. I was 20 years old when I had my son and began to realize that I was always going to struggle with my weight. I also realized that my weight loss could not take a long time or I would get discouraged and loose interest. The weight had to come off fast because I was better at maintaining my weight but not too good at taking it off permanently. Unfortunately that meant that each time I stopped attempting to maintain my weight, I gained weight. Add thirty years and 120 pounds and you have me where I started the Medifast plan.
This brings me to my next weight loss tip. I believe it is the most important. It is in all likely-hood the number one reason I failed on every other plan I have tried for the last 30 years. PERSEVERANCE: The desire, and notice I used the word 'desire' not 'ability', to stay with it no matter what. That's why there are averages in your weekly weight loss. Frankly this comes from the fact that the first weeks on a diet the human body will easily loose weight . . . . in large increments. But then over time it begins to adjust and the weight loss slows. This is normal. Add to this the fact that the restrictive diet necessary to loose weight becomes more and more difficult to maintain. We just hate to deprive ourselves and look at all the goodies thrown at us both on TV and in the grocery store. So comes the need for perseverance.
Now that doesn't mean you have to torture yourself and strike yourself with pain to make sure you are staying on plan, though there are some known tricks in this area that I will try to remember to treat you with over the next month. It really means that when you mess up you pick yourself up and begin again. And do this as soon as possible. You can chastise yourself as much as you like but your will probably get better result is you lovingly give yourself a hug (you'll have to figure out how to do that by yourself, though you could get someone close to you to hug you instead, that's always nice!) then remind yourself you are only human. You must always remember to forgive yourself for your short comings and, once again, 'Decide' to return to the plan. Your body will rebel with hunger pains and maybe even refuse to let go of the next couple of pounds. Just remember you have the ability to choose and to act upon that choice.
Let me use this as an example. First let me say, "Sorry," to Jamie, "but I won't have a completed food diary for Sunday." She knows why, this isn't the first time this has happened. but Sunday I was tired and just plane hungry. I have no idea what my body was searching for but like Frankenstein’s monster all it could do was grunt and demand more. I tried all my little tricks to reduce the damage but I finally had to 'cut it off'. Monday when I awoke the first thing I did was get right back into my diet routine and begin again. I will pay the consequences of my actions but the day didn't result in a derailment.
I hope you don't let discouragement derail you and when you feel like you can't do it any more, just persevere!
May God Bless you and give his Holy Spirit to guide you and bring you through your weight loss journey. Amen
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