Make today the first day of the rest of your life!

If you are telling yourself you will never lose weight or that it is too hard, or that you have no self control and you accept these thoughts, you will only sabotage your efforts to manage your weight.  What you tell yourself can make you feel stressed, anxious, worried, depressed and more apt to binge or overeat.  You need to change your thinking!!

Recognise that there will be events which you will not have control over.  Suppose you have had a good week you have been motivated and eaten according to your plan but the scales say otherwise.  Getting mad at yourself would be a mistake, since other factors may be responsible such as water retention or if you are exercising additional muscle (remember muscle weighs more than fat).  Be realistic about what you can control & what you can’t, pay attention to how good you feel, or how loose your clothes are.  These are the hallmarks of real progress.

Your thoughts powerfully program you.  Realistically assess what you can control and what you can’t and take action to make a difference in your life. You may find it hard to see yourself being able to enjoy a party, go on a vacation, eat what other people are eating.  You then start feeling sorry for yourself.  You start saying “It’s not fair other people can eat what they like”, “I hate depriving myself”, “I shouldn’t have to work this hard”, “I can’t go to any parties”.  This type of thinking is highly destructive.

Feeling sorry for yourself you start eating to make yourself feel better.  What you fail to realise is you can still go to parties, you can still go on vacation and you can still do what you want. You need to focus on the scenery, the activities, the “battery recharge”, rather than focussing on food.  Think about deprivation in another way: by overeating, you’re depriving yourself of a healthy weight, an attractive appearance, self-regard and peace of mind.

You are creating the situations you are in and you are creating the thoughts and emotions that flow from these situations.  You must embrace the fact that you own your own problems and take action to solve them.

Does this sound familiar??  “I can’t help bingeing when I’m alone”.  Is this really true?  Is there nothing else, nothing at all that you can do when you are alone?  Isn’t there some activity or something that doesn’t involve food that you could rather do?

Is your goal to achieve permanent weight loss, and experience the physical and emotional health that stems from it?  If you want to look and feel better how does repeating “This won’t work” or “It’s too hard”, help you achieve your goal?  Tell yourself “I’m not powerless over my behaviour.  I’m in charge of myself.  I have to choose what’s more important: reactive overeating or taking care of my health.  It’s my choice, and I can do something about it! You can only control what happens now.  You have no control over what has happened in the past.

Self-Defeating Thinking	Right Thinking
My family/friends are conspiring to keep me fat, so I can’t lose weight	Losing weight is within my control
I didn’t lose weight this week - I must have messed up	I may be retaining fluid.  My body is adjusting to the positive changes I’ve made so far
I’m so overwhelmed - I can’t do it	As long as I continue working on my weight, I’ll achieve the goals I have set for myself
I will not succeed	No matter what happens, I’ll stay on course.  If I do what is required, I will succeed
I’ve gained a kilogram, and it’s terrible	I’ll review my week and see where I can improve.  After all, since starting this program I’ve lost ____kilograms
I’m going to lose 2 kilograms this week	I’ll stick to my Eating Plan a day at a time.  Whatever I lose will be a positive
I feel fat, so I must look fat	There’s no evidence for this.  I am looking better than ever
I can’t have fun anymore	Not true.  The fitter I get, the more fun I have, and the more activities I can participate in.  Life is more fun than ever

Make up sticky reminder notes for yourself and place them around the house -

Where to place them               Front door

Fridge

Computer

Diary or Organiser

Purse or Wallet

Next to your bed

Bathroom mirror

On your TV

Write on them                           Losing weight is within my control!

I will achieve the goals I have set for myself!

No matter what happens I will stay on course!

If I do what is required I will succeed!

Quitting will get me nowhere!

Take control!

I am in control!

I’ll stick to my program, a day at a time!

Whatever I lose will be a positive!

Remember - You can’t control everything all the time so control what you can control, accept what you can’t and be wise enough to know the difference!  

Source: Cohen's Weight Loss Clinic