How are those New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight coming? Are you still plugging away? Can you feel them starting to waiver? Or have they been put aside to show up on next year’s list?
One of the things that can cause people to pass on meeting their wellness goals is the overwhelming feeling that can come from trying to go from holiday-treat-eating coach-potato to food-measuring athlete all at once.
There really is no rule that says you have to change all of your behaviors at once to succeed.
I didn’t.
Four years ago, for various reasons I went from a runner to a walker to not doing any exercise at all. During that period of inactivity, I didn’t curb my eating and pretty quickly reached my heaviest weightever.
I found myself starting over with exercise and losing weight—again. And it did NOT feel good.
While I hated where I was, I just couldn’t seem to find the energy to get out of bed and move.
So what changed? How did I get going?
I first started mentally preparing.
These mental preparations did include mentally visualizing me moving my body, but most importantly,they were a conscious effort to change my thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
You see, I was spending a whole lot of my mental energy feeling like a failure.
Here I was in this place of starting over—again! I knew how to diet and exercise, yet, I had failed. Surly this meant I was a weak person, or a slacker, or was somehow inherently flawed.
Those beliefs were not getting me anywhere. In fact, they were keeping me stuck in the spiral of shame and self-loathing that I thought losing weight would fix. But that very shame and self-loathing made it nearly impossible to force-start a new diet and exercise program.
And I was struggling with thoughts and beliefs about how hard working out was going to be, and how much hunger and deprivation I was going to have to endure. I was dreading it. These kinds of thoughts were NOT conducive to starting a successful diet and exercise program.
It was important to take the time to mentally prepare for where I wanted to go.
Action is great, but if you don’t have your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs aligned behind it, it’s not going to create sustainable results.
Part of that mental preparation was gently letting go of the idea that I was somehow a failure. Was I really? I did know what to do. In fact, I was so mentally disciplined that numerous times I had forcedmyself to push past a wall of negative energy to Make Things Happen.
What mattered was my belief in myself. What mattered was that I knew Who I was and what I could accomplish.
Changing those underlying thoughts brought a sense of relief that was enough to begin to shift the momentum of energy in my favor.
Another part of my mental preparation was to think about all the reasons I did want to be slim, fit, and healthy. To imagine how good that would feel.
I took my reasons a lot deeper than just looking good in a pair of jeans. I wanted to fully live a vibrantand fulfilling life. A part of me felt like I wasn’t living up to my full potential. I wasn’t consistently showing up in relationships as the person I wanted to be. I wasn’t accomplishing everything I wanted to accomplish. I wasn’t showing up in my life as who I knew I intended.
Having physical health, energy, and stamina was critical to be able to step out as the Me I truly wanted to be.
And the final piece of mental preparation?
I reached out for support. Having someone there to confirm that I wasn’t a failure or a slacker, and to tell me that they “knew I could do it” was what tipped the energetic scale enough that I was able to get out of bed on that chilly morning and move!
But that movement would have been a joke to some people. What I considered a huge success was just 10 minutes of any kind of physical movement. Seriously, I counted everything! Counting and celebrating each tiny sign of success continued to build the energetic momentum towards achieving my goals.
And it wasn’t until I was consistently meeting my physical goals that I started thinking about the slow and steady changes I could make with my eating.
The daily mental preparation continued to be critical to my achieving my success. It was the wind that helped me get airborne and support me as I flew.
It was—and continues to be—the critical factor in how I have easily maintained a size 6 now for the past several years.
Yes, it took me a year to lose 34 pounds and get back into great shape. So what?
At the end of that year I was a lot happier having slowly and steadily made those small decisions towards a healthier lifestyle than to try to do too much at once and give up, only to be faced with the same goal and results a year later.
And now several years later, I can tell you taking it slow and steady was totally worth it!
It was that slow and steady, inside out approach that led to sustainable results.
What small mental shift can you make today that will move you towards a healthier lifestyle? Do that for a week and then look for another tiny step to make. Do that consistently and you will build momentum and achieve your goals.
Do that consistently and next January 1 you will be celebrating your success rather than being faced with the disheartening decision to put Losing Weight on your list of New Year’s Resolutions—again.
Together we can do it!
Don’t Wait Until Next Year to Get the Body You Want!
Join the the Love Your Way Slim Coaching Program today!
This unique program transforms your mindset, integrates your core values and spiritual beliefs, provides exceptional support, and hones in on the most powerful actions you can take to make releasing the weight not only easy and satisfying—but fun! (Yes, it really is possible!)
Program closes January 12, 2013. It won’t reopen until January 2014!
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