Can you relate? “I have got to start a diet but its Thursday. Too many opportunities for food I want to eat this weekend. I will start on Monday.”
Then, on Sunday you think, “Wow. Monday’s are really tough. I better hold off on starting my diet until Tuesday.”
On Tuesday you reflect back on the bad day you had on Monday. “I am just not up for this. I will put off my diet until next week.”
Finally on the following Monday you start your diet. You make it through lunch and then. “I’m just not into this. I’ll try again next week.”
Does any of what you just read sound like you…or am I the only one who has suffered from “diet procrastination?” Welcome to the Diet of Good Intentions.
You want to lose weight. You need to lose weight. And you have every intention of doing it but you just have to be in the right frame of mind.
How do you get from the “want to” stage to the “commitment” stage?
Before you get to the calorie and fat grams counting (or whatever kind of diet you choose) you must deal with your attitude first.
Following are 5 attitude adjustment tips that will help you get psyched up, fired up, and committed to not only start your diet…but to reach your goal.
1) See yourself as you will be- Document how your life will be different. How will you clothing choices change? What kind of new activities will you take on? Write down how you will feel when people compliment you on how good you look.
I recommend starting a journal and in the back of the book make a declaration of the person you WILL become. Tell your story as you see yourself in the near future…looking younger, feeling better, having more fun with friends, wearing clothing styles that turns heads, having more energy, and even doing better in your career.
Then, take a few minutes every day to express your feelings, victories, and frustrations. Frequently refer to what you wrote in the back of the journal. See yourself in that light and even modify those prophetic words as your vision of your future self becomes clearer.
2) Make a contract with yourself- In this contractual agreement establish the date you will start your diet, your ultimate goal, and the reward that you will give yourself for accomplishing that goal.
Let’s say that your goal is to lose 50 pounds. Make certain that you set realistic expectations for your deadline. 50 pounds in 30 days, for example, is completely unrealistic. Base your deadline for reaching your goal on your past experiences with dieting. Obviously, the more you have to lose the longer it will take.
When I was younger there were several occasions when I took off 70+ pounds. Both times it took me nearly 6 months. I had become so good at losing weight that I could predict with accuracy how much I could expect to lose per month. But there was something seriously wrong with this picture.
Notice that I said that I lost over 70 pounds twice. That means that my diets were failures. Any diet that results in gaining the weight back is a failure. So…part of your contract must include a “forever” clause. Your contract with yourself should involve losing the weight you need to lose and keeping it off.
Don’t forget to sign and date your contract and then keep it with your journal.
3) Make a list of all your excuses- What are your excuses for being overweight? “It’s in my genes.” “Too much stress.” “God made me this way.” “Dieting doesn’t work for me.” “Dieting it just too much hassle for this time and place in my life.” Just to name a few.
Take your time with this exercise because it will reveal what has been holding you back. Once you have exhausted every possible excuse…review what you have written…and then strike through each one while declaring, “Unacceptable!”
And then…tear up the list and throw it away. You no longer have any excuses to keep you from starting, staying, and victoriously completing your diet.
4) Compose a list of positive counter-thoughts for your negative thoughts- Legendary motivational speaker Zig Ziglar calls negative thoughts “stinkin’ thinkin’. Negative self-talk will talk you out of the success you want.
So every time a negative thought enters your mind…compose a positive thought in your journal to counter the negative thought.
For example: “After all this dieting I still gained a pound this week.” Counter with: “But I have already lost 10 pounds, I am looking better, and I will reach my goal. What a great day that will be.”
Don’t dwell on or regurgitate the negative. Accept only the positive affirmations about yourself.
5) Adopt the mindset that you only fail when you quit- We all hit low points where we want to quit. We all have setbacks. The important thing is don’t give up. Don’t quit.
Just because you broke your diet doesn’t mean you have failed. Even though you gained a pound or 2 doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel. Setbacks are exactly what the name implies. Just setbacks. They are not the end…just a stumbling block. Pick yourself up and keep on going.
Diets fail because our attitudes fail. Get your attitude right and you will be victorious!
By: Richard Weirich