Top Ten Rules for Losing it for Good

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.
2. Weight is not a moral issue. You are not a bad person based on what you eat, nor are you a good person based on what you haven’t eaten. Yes, I love being thin: I’m healthier and happier. But the truth is always the same: my self-worth is not determined by my dinner.
3. It’s all about choice. You “can” eat whatever you want. The trick is in the consequences. Single choices are unimportant, but the choices you make most often come home to roost. Ask yourself if a given choice ultimately supports your goals. And if you’ve made a choice that doesn’t move you forward, use it to to learn instead of as an excuse to stay off-track. There are no mistakes!
4. Every step counts. Every single improvement matters. Take the stairs instead of the elevator? Walk around the block twice? Congratulate yourself! These small steps add up.
5. See your own beauty. You don’t suddenly become beautiful after you lose another 50 pounds or from a new hairstyle or new clothes. Beauty comes from inside. It’s not your shell, it’s who you are.
6. Love thyself. Nothing worthwhile comes from a place of self-hatred. Losing weight may change your collection of life experiences, but it doesn’t change your core. By loving yourself, you understand that your health and well-being is worth the effort and you deserve the best you can give yourself.
7. Taking care of yourself is selfish—in a good way! We so often ignore our own needs to care for others, forgetting that caring for the self must come first if you want to have any energy to devote to others.
8. Take time to celebrate your successes. You have many successes, every day! But we minimize, downplay, discount and ignore our successes so often, leaving us feeling inadequate and depressed. Once you start celebrating success, it’s like fast-forwarding your progress!
9. Don’t wait for the Divine Bolt of Motivation to Strike. Sorry, but itn’s not happening. Motivation does not proceed success; it follows it. Do something, anything—Just do! Then, celebrate your successes, because success is the strongest motivator in existence.
10. You get what you focus on. If you want to be slender and healthy, don’t focus on all the junk food you’d like to eat, or even how much you dislike being fat. You attract what you project; project good stuff! Visualize success and every single day, acknowledge the gifts in your life with gratitude. Changing your focus will change your life.