Today is about preparing yourself for the journey ahead.
By now you should have set a goal, something challenging but realistic. You should have committed yourself to reaching it. Hopefully you’ve begun telling family and friends, lining up their help and support. Many of you have signed up for tweightloss. Trust me when I say that you can never have too many people in your corner. I’ve made some unlikely friends and allies on my journey. Have one another’s back, at some point you’ll truly need each other.
If you haven’t signed up but want to, or would like more information, send an email to tweightloss@gmail.com. It’s anonymous, only I see the email and I’m not telling anyone.
Next you should start mentally prepaparing. In weight loss, as in much of life, it’s 99% mental. I’ll pass along a bit of insight that I receive from my 5 year old son each week as I leave for spin class. He says, “Dad, when I run a race I always close my eyes and picture myself running really fast. Don’t be nervous in class just close your eyes and think about pedaling as fast as you can.” VISUALIZATION! My 5 year old gets it.
If you’re standing on the starting blocks thinking about failure, you’ve already lost. There’s no place for self doubt here! Eliminate the fear of failure from your head. You’re going to do this.
Picture yourself at your goal weight. Now think about the emotions that will come along with that success. Imagine looking in the mirror and feeling overjoyed at what you see, the pride you will feel. Gone are the feelings of disgust, unhappiness or failure. Keep those positive emotions and focus on them, let them pull you towards your goal. (sorry to sound like Dr. Phil)
Now start thinking about sacrifice. What are you willing to give up to get there? Think about what has true importance in your life and what doesn’t. Maybe it’s that venti latte you have every day before work that has more calories than you’re willing to acknowledge, or maybe it’s switching from cream to skim. No sacrifice is too small.
Think about what you can give up when you boldly declare, “I don’t have time to work out”. That’s Bull Shit and you know it. If you have time to watch The Real Housewives of Orange County, you have time to work out. Again ask yourself, “is this helping me to reach my goal?”
Finally, stop being so hard on yourself! Seriously! Nobody is without flaw. We all fall on our asses, sometimes more than we’d care to admit. You’re going to screw up at some point! I certainly did. (Read “Shit Happens” if you don’t believe me.)
What’s important is not that you screwed up, but how you handle it. Do you let that be your excuse, or do you pick yourself up and soldier on?
Believe in yourself, if you don’t, nobody will. You can do this!
