| Diet Motivation You need motivation? Join the club! I need motivation to iron my husband's shirts. My husband needs motivation to do the dishes. My dog needs motivation to do anything. We all need motivation Trouble is, no one else can really help us. We have to find the motivation from within ourselves. We have to want to lose weight We have to get fired up It's no good sitting down and squeaking 'I need to lose weight' (sob). We have to stand up and SHOUT IT! We have to say: I'M FED UP of being fat. I'm FED UP of covering up my thighs. I'm FED UP of being laughed at. I'm FED UP of being ignored. I'm FED UP of feeling bad about myself. I WANT MY LIFE BACK!!!! I want to LOOK GOOD! I want to FEEL GOOD! I want OTHER PEOPLE to feel good about me! I want to have FUN! But shouting it isn't enough either We have to start ACTING as though we MEAN it. We have to get OFF our butts and start making PLANS. We have to STAND TALL and take ourselves SERIOUSLY. No one else can do this for us So get going, girls! And if you is a guy this saying goes for you too . Stand tall and start taking yourself seriously. NO MORE excuses. NO MORE junk food. NO MORE fad diets. NO MORE fat person. The moral? First, get an attitude. Then get slim. |
| DO YOU FIND IT DIFFICULT TO STICK TO A DIET? Do you find dieting difficult? If so, maybe you need to look at things a little differently. Point is, many of the barriers to successful dieting are in the mind. So sometimes, in order to overcome these barriers it's a good idea to change the way we think. This isn't psycho-babble - it's just common sense. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXAMPLE Juliet is 19 years old and 25 pounds overweight. Every few months she goes on a diet and takes more exercise. But within a couple of weeks she gets fed up and quits. Is she stupid? No. On the contrary, she's a sharp girl. Does she know what to eat? Yes. She knows exactly what foods are best. Is she some kind of weakie? No. She's quite a strong kid. Does she have an emotional problem? (gulp) No!! She's perfectly okay. So why does she keep quitting her diet? Because she doesn't make it a big enough PRIORITY. She's too easy-going. She's too easily distracted. She's too easily dissuaded by friends or family. If you said this to Juliet, she'd probably say something like: "Yeah. You're probably right. But that's the sort of person I am." She's comfortable with this. She's comfortable with the idea that she's an easy-going person. Because it means she can't change. So she's not responsible. Like many dieters who have trouble losing weight, Juliet doesn't want to admit responsibility. She prefers to believe that she can't do it because of the TYPE of person she is. The problem is, Juliet is NOT HAPPY with her weight. If she WAS happy being 25 pounds overweight, things would be fine. But she's not. In fact sometimes she's downright miserable. So she needs to find a solution before things get even worse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT'S THE SOLUTION? Juliet needs to take more control of her life. She must train herself to be more single-minded. [It's cheaper than cosmetic surgery] ----------------------- JULIET MUST SAY WHAT SHE WANTS Instead of saying to herself (and others): "I HAVE to lose weight" she must say: "I WANT to lose weight". Think about this for a moment. Imagine being overweight and sitting down with some friends who are also overweight. The conversation turns to dieting and one of your friends says: "I've decided to start dieting because I WANT to lose weight". This is a very positive statement. In fact, it's so positive that it's almost threatening. It makes you want to stomp all over her! Why? Because your friend is taking CONTROL. Which is the last thing you want to hear. You probably prefer her to say something like: "I've decided to start dieting because I HAVE to lose weight." (sob) This is more passive and it allows you to reply: "Yeah, me too!" Then you can all feel sorry for each other and order more pizza!! --------------------------------------------------------------- JULIET MUST PLAN FOR SUCCESS, NOT FAILURE If someone asks you to do something and you reply: "I'll try" what exactly do you mean? You mean: I'll have a go, but I'm not sure I'll succeed. i.e. the expression "I'll try" is short for "I'm likely to fail". Now Juliet always says to herself "I'm going to TRY to lose weight". So right from the word Go, she is admitting probable failure. Instead of saying "I'll try," she needs to say to herself: "I'm GOING to lose weight." Or, "I WILL lose weight." This alone will make a big difference to her general attitude. [Think this is stoopid? Just try it! It really works!] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONCLUSION It's important for Juliet to change the words she uses. Because words shape our attitude. Choosing the right words will help her to become more single-minded. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TEST THIS ON YOURSELF AND YOUR FRIENDS Next time the conversation turns to dieting and weight, listen to what other people say. Listen to how they express themselves. 1. Do they say things like: I HAVE to lose some weight I MUST lose weight I've GOT to lose weight I'm going to TRY and lose 10 pounds If so, they are not in control and are less likely to succeed. 2. Or do they say: I WANT to lose weight I'd LIKE to lose weight I'm GOING to lose 10 pounds If so, they are more in control and are much more likely to succeed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ JOAN CAN'T STICK TO A DIET Joan is 39 years old and 60 pounds overweight. But don't stop reading if you're aged 25 and 30 pounds overweight. Because Joan's problem might be your problem, too! You see, Joan can't stick to a diet. She has various excuses. Too many carbs make her binge. Too much protein makes her crave carbs. Dieting is boring. This diet doesn't give her a shopping list. That diet is too expensive. Another diet is too restrictive. She doesn't enjoy exercise. She can't cook. She's addicted to x,y and z. Why is Joan like this? Why doesn't she just relax and follow a sensible balanced diet? Because she's scared. Scared? (gulp) Yup! Scared of what? Success. You see, the truth is, Joan doesn't really want to succeed. She's afraid of success. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHY IS JOAN AFRAID? Why on earth would Joan (or anyone) be AFRAID of success? There are several reasons. The most common reason is fear of change. You see, sometimes we don't want to be different from the way we are. We're scared to change. We like treating ourselves to regular junk food. We like complaining about our weight. We like being able to make excuses about not being ABLE to lose weight. We like other people to sympathize with our 'diet struggles'. Above all, our weight is our big EXCUSE for not doing things. We put off doing other things 'until we've lost some weight'. We say things like: 'First I need to lose weight, then I'll....' But once we lose weight and get slim, the situation changes. We can't eat so much junk. We can't complain about our life so much. We lose the 'sympathy' vote! We start being judged by higher standards. We lose our excuse for not doing things. We get much more attention. And this scares us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RITA If, like Joan, you're afraid of change, I understand completely. But I have seen hundreds of women who have crossed over. Women who WERE seriously overweight and who are now slim. They were scared to change. But now they are glad they did. They say: It's the best thing they ever did. EXAMPLE One of my most successful dieters is a lady called RITA. Recently, Rita reached 155 pounds. She used to be 361 pounds. Needless to say, her life has changed completely. This is HER description of the difference that losing weight has made to her: 1. NO MORE "LUMP" I used to be a fat lump. I would spend most of the day sitting down. I couldn't walk far or manage stairs easily. This alone cut me off from people and things. Result? I stopped caring and became more irritable and dissatisfied with everything. Now, I can move around, jog, cycle, swim - do anything I please. It's like a completely new life. I have such freedom! And I can join in anything! 2. I FEEL LIKE A REAL PERSON I had no confidence. None at all. I felt totally useless. I mean UTTERLY useless! Even the smallest things were major challenges to me. I kept to rigid routines so avoid any surprises. So my life was boring, boring, boring! Now, I do so many things! I do things with my family, especially my kids. I've started a small business and of course I now have lots more time and energy for my husband. And my mind is full of new ideas and possibilities. 3. SUCH A WASTE - SO MANY EXCUSES For years I did nothing but make excuses to myself about why I COULDN'T LOSE WEIGHT. I'd blame everything and everyone, rather than take responsibility. It was such a waste of time. I should have woken up years before I did. Now, I have only one real ambition - I want to make up for lost time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WAS RITA SCARED TO LOSE WEIGHT? Yes. She was terrified. Terrified of the extra attention and all the other reasons I mentioned. But she had a wonderful expression, which she used whenever dieting got really tough. She used to say: "If not now, WHEN?" This was her way of keeping going. She was fed up of making excuses, and this was her way of saying: Enough, already! Try it, and see if it works for you. |
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