Motivation

Ok, so it happened. Things were going along swimmingly, you were on top of the world and it was all falling effortlessly in to place when suddenly, there it was: temptation, smacking you in the face!

I know for some folks, having a "lose-by" date can be motivating and help keep them on track, focused.

But these dates can sometimes be a bigger obstacle than help. You may be asking the wrong questions here. Instead of asking, “How can I lose X pounds by this date?” Maybe the question should be, “How can I continue to make progress that I can maintain?"

Find out if your lose-by date is helping or hurting, and what you might focus on instead...

Guilt. It's pervasive in the life of a many a person looking to lose weight. Guilt over what you've eaten. Guilt over what you didn't eat. (Are you wasting food? Don't you remember those starving children in China your mother mentioned when you didn't clean your plate?) Guilt over skipping exercise. Even guilt over "wasting" the last X years of your life by not watching your weight. If only you had been more vigilant before, you wouldn't be in this situation. Guilt, guilt, guilt!

All that guilt is enough to make you fat. Really.

Now, I know that's a mighty big promise. And you're not reading a back issue of the Weekly World News where the next article is about Batboy mating with the alien chick. Nope. This is a one-step primer for how to totally eliminate all tempation from your life. But before we get rid of it, let's define it.

Negative self-talk hurts. It doesn’t motivate. It doesn’t clarify. It doesn’t prompt personal responsibility or better choices or more progress or any other positive outcome. Period.

This is one of those elegantly simple truths, if you ask me. It borders on a no-brainer, except that emotionally, it’s SO easy to slide into the trap—BWAP!—so maybe you should give it a second thought, Sparky.

A common dieter's disease that you see running rampant: Scale-itis. As in: How can I lose 2 kajillion pounds in three minutes? Or something along those lines.

Now I get this. I so get it. But if you stop for a second and think about where it comes from, it may change your perspective a bit.

See, it's like this: You've seen people who have EVERY SINGLE indication of being successful at losing weight, short having the scale read what they want, and what happens? Blind panic, right?

I watch people. In particular, I watch folks with weight issues deal with them. And you can see certain attitudes, opinions, and "self-stories" that seem to have a pretty strong correlation with failure rates. Now, I'm not saying I don't think you can overcome dysfunctional attitudes. You certainly can!

Answer this question as True or False for yourself: "After I lose all this yucky extra weight, I'll feel better about myself."

"What did you say to me?" -Mr. Brain

No. We're not talking about heavy sweaters!  When you're losing weight, many things change that you probably wouldn't have thought about previously. Stuff you take for granted.

[Author's Note: Now, I don't respect you any less if this is what you do. This is just how I feel about it, OK? Everybody has to find their own path, I know..]

It's not a desitination, but a process. All about the journey, as I'm fond of saying. Keep your attitude in check, and the rest falls into place, Sparky. Here's my "Top 10" to keep you grounded.

1. There is NO failure. To “fail” is to quit. As long as you’re moving, you are a success. Former attempts at weight loss? That was just practice! You’re a masterpiece in progress.

Ever heard chatter about people having trouble sticking to “the diet”, not being motivated, yada yada yada…? Hmmm. Anyone guess where I’m going with this? ‘Nkay. Let’s start from the beginning.

Sometimes, you see folks around wondering about how to stay motivated, stay on track, and keep focused when you’re looking to lose weight. Heck, I’m gearing up to get more focused again myself. I’ve got that last-mile lazies, and I could stand to get past it. I don't feel bad about that, myself. There's no point, for goodness sakes!

The skinnier you feel, the less you're interested in temptation. Losing weight means your self-image is in flux, and it's sometimes to match how your body is changing to how you feel on the inside. It's can be disorienting!

But feeling good helps keep us on track, so feeling good is incredibly important. To do your best, it's vital to pay attention to how you feel and do what you can to maximize positive energy.

People sometimes congratulate me for my losses, which I appreciate. But then comes the part that strikes me as weird: “I just can’t do what you did. I don’t have the willpower.”

Whoooa. Hold the phone there, Sparky. You think this is some kind of special thing that only a few, select folks with nerves of steel and the resolve of Joan of Arc can do? Pull-eze.

Enjoy these tips from  Jonny Bowden, M.A., C.N.S. Board certified nutritionist and author of the bestseller, "Living the Low Carb Life: Choosing the Diet that's Right for You From Atkins to the Zone" (Sterling 2004).

Living the Low Carb Life: Controlled Carbohydrate Eating for Long-Term Weight Loss author: Jonny Bowden asin: 1402718608

One of the most important indicators of successful weight loss I've noticed in my time around people looking to drop a few pounds is not choice of diet plan, or amount of weight to lose, or age, or medical concerns, or any of the usual suspects you might guess. It's actually WAY more simple than I could have ever guessed.

Attitude makes all the difference.

LCE is pleased to present Guest Author, Graeme Street.

The alarm clock goes off every morning for me at about 6:00 a.m. Before I even get up my mind is already swimming with thoughts and ideas of what lies ahead for the day.

Don't give up making new beginnings. No matter how many times you've tried and failed. No matter how many "good intentions" have become paving stones on the road to your own personal hell. No matter how much it hurts. I've been there, and felt the pain of having to start over again. I know what its like to be so afraid to try one more time that you'd rather give up. That's what this story is all about. For those of you who are looking towards the new year with dread rather than hope, this one's for you!

You know those hair ads that you see on TV? You know the ones that end with the line, "because I'm worth it?"

Well, this is not one of those.

But I find myself repeating that line again and again when I am offering support to others who are struggling with their low-carb way of eating (woe). I frequently utter the phrase, "YOU ARE WORTH IT!"

And I mean that.