We Love Food

"But, I looooove to eat." How many times have we heard this phrase when talking to people about losing weight? Let us count the ways. To which we say, join the club. So do we. Who doesn't love to eat? Eating is a cornerstone of our existence. Food is everywhere.

Hence one of the reasons it's so excruciatingly difficult for many people to change their behaviors when it comes to food. It's always there and it's rarely healthy. So what's a poor dieter to do? Sure, there are all kinds of tricks to make it easier as you whittle away the pounds. But here's the thing: nothing will work if you see everything as a temporary change.

It's really hard to lose weight and keep it off. Sad to say, for most of us, there's no way around it. Hard work, determination and consistency are the only routes to success. But you know what? It does get easier. The more you behave, the easier it gets and the more natural those behaviors will be. It won't always feel like you're being deprived or missing out on something. Promise.

A Friend Indeed

One of the most important parts of a successful and ongoing weight loss plan is finding support. Not just from family, but support from your peers and friends may be even more important as you adopt a new, healthy way of life. One study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007 states that if your friends are overweight, your chances of becoming overweight increase by as much as 71%.

Some people resist the idea of telling others about their goal of losing weight. After all, it's your battle to fight, right? Well, yes and no. Of course, the real work is up to you. However, you'll be much better equipped to succeed and the battle may not seem as treacherous when you have people helping you. Here are some ways to build and capitalize on your own personal support network.

• Identify the people in your life who will support you, and tell them what you're doing.
• Ask them what you need from them. Be specific. Example: "Can we change our dinner date to a walking date?"
• Be aware of sabotage. It's sad, but true. There are people who don't want you to succeed. You're not going to change that, so just be aware and you'll be better prepared to deal with whatever they throw at you. Focus on those who do support you.

Friends are good. Friends who support and encourage healthy behaviors are even better.

 

One of Those Days

Do you ever have those days when it seems really easy to make bad decisions? You eat all the wrong things, miss your workout, and neglect the piles of laundry to catch up on your favorite reality shows. One bad decision fuels another and another and another. The worst part of it all? You don’t care. When you’re having one of those days, you’re way too tired to care.

Sure you’ve had ‘em. We all have. The key is to recover from them – to make sure those days don’t become regular days. Don’t let isolated experiences get into your head and take over. You are in control, even during those times you don’t feel like it.

So, the morning after one of those days simply pick yourself back up. Start off with a morning walk or your exercise of choice. Eat a healthy breakfast. Set the footprint for the rest of the day and looky there – that bad day is just a distant memory.

To Substitute or Not to Substitute?

Many of us have one. You know – that one tooth in the far corner of your mouth that, when it hits, nearly drives you to the ice cream shop.  Ah, yes - your sweet tooth. Our relationship with sugar is like a forbidden romance. We know it’s not good for us - we don’t want to like it, but still we crave it, indulge and love every minute of it.

We know that losing weight requires removing a lot of the sugar from our diets. So, we try to cut down on calories and drink diet sodas and eat foods sweetened with artificial sweeteners. Are we doing ourselves any favors? Reading the fine print on the packets is enough to scare anyone away. Some studies have even shown that sugar substitutes may actually cause us to gain weight. WHAT?! You may ask why, pray tell, are we substituting? What’s the point?

Before you start screaming for your regular Coke back - think about it a bit differently. If you are indeed hooked on artificial sweeteners, think about making a gradual change. Maybe you’ve made the switch from regular to diet. Good for you. Now try replacing one of your diet sodas a day with water. Next week, replace one more. After awhile, you may find your sweet tooth isn’t as influential as it seems.

You Are Now Leaving Your Comfort Zone

When you decide to make a substantial change in your life - how does it make you feel? Does it excite you? Or do you feel unleashed - as if you've let go of what ties you to the familiar? We all react differently to change. But one thing is consistent for everyone: if you're living an unhealthy life and you want to be healthy, you absolutely, positively must make a change. And most, if not all of the time that change will require leaving your comfort zone.

Ahh, yes - the billowy safety of our own personal comfort zone. It seems like nothing bad could ever happen there. It's a nice place to be most of the time. However it's also a place where nothing remarkable ever really happens. You know when you're leaving your comfort zone. Fear forms in the pit of your stomach, maybe a little nausea and at times, full-on dread. You want to run back at lightning speed to your comfort zone where everything is safe and familiar. But wait. Think about this. Wouldn't life be pretty boring if you were totally comfortable and never had to face another challenge for as long as you live? Life certainly gets complicated and at those times you might even crave a little boredom. But think about how exhilarating it is when you really put your heart and soul into something and at last, you achieve it.

Leaving the comfort zone is tough for most of us. But the rewards for making positive changes far outweigh the risks. And your comfort zone will be there when you're finished. It may just be redecorated.