If you’re like most dieters, you start out strong and highly motivated, but then something happens. Demanding kids, needy friends, even a new puppy can wear you down. Maybe you start feeling lonely or depressed or discouraged.
Once you slip off your diet, you may have a hard time getting back on track and eventually, you say, “Forget it! I simply can’t do this right now.”
If you tend to start and stop every time you diet, you may want to look at the difference between being interested and being committed.
No matter what
When you’re just interested in losing weight, you tend to stay with your plans only until “something better” comes along. So when the brownies show up in the break room, you decide you’ll wait and start your diet tomorrow.
In contrast, when you’re committed to your weight-loss plan, you stick with it no matter what. That means you ignore the ice cream that beckons after a rough day, and instead, put on your workout shoes and head out the door for a walk.
Do it anyway!
Sometimes we don’t feel like eating right or exercising. But is that reason enough to let it all go? You don’t usually wait until you feel like doing it to go to work. The same thing is true for visiting your mother or changing dirty diapers.
Because these areas are important, you do them regardless of how you feel at the moment. In the same way, you don’t have to feel like working on your weight-loss plan to stick with your program.
Learn to focus on your actions, not your feelings. On days you’re not in the mood for eating right or exercising, tell yourself to do it anyway.
Then skip the leftover chocolate cake and eat your fruit instead. When you’re committed, you make these choices regardless of whether you actually feel like it.
Trust that results will come
With interested, you depend on results to keep you motivated. So on days the scale doesn’t move, you assume your diet isn’t working. And if you hit a plateau, you get frustrated and throw your program out the window.
Instead of needing results to keep you on track, practice working on your motivation even when you don’t see any visible progress. When you’re committed, you learn to trust that as long as you stay motivated, results will eventually follow.
It’s up to ME
When you’re interested in losing weight, you expect other people to help you make it happen. So when you fall off your diet, you blame the friends who ate potato chips in front of you.
Or you blame life by saying “if only I had more time, more money, a new job or a supportive spouse, then I’d be able to stay on my plan.”
In contrast, when you’re committed, you don’t blame other people or circumstances for your struggles. Instead, you stay on your diet in spite of not having enough money or time or supportive friends.
Challenges don’t stop you
When your life gets overwhelmed and filled with challenges, do you give up on your weight-loss efforts? Committed people use strong self-talk to help them stay focused during challenging times.
Create a mantra or phrase that you say every day (maybe even every hour) to remind yourself of your commitment. Perhaps you’ll say “I’m not giving up. I’ll stick with my plans until I reach my goal. I’m determined to feel healthy and strong in the years ahead.”
Stay committed!
From time to time, ask yourself the question, “Am I interested or committed?” Then demonstrate your commitment by staying solid on your weight-loss plan, no matter what!
