05/09/2011 01:07
What I've Learned, 2
No matter what program you choose to lose weight, you have to get your head in the game. Getting tired of just doing it is a very common occurrence. It will happen no matter what program you choose. When the thrill of newness wears off, you get tired of it all. On JennyCraig you will tell yourself you are tired of the food. On Weight Watchers you will tell yourself you are tired of something else.
The trick is in not allowing yourself to become tired. You aren't on a diet—rather, you are losing weight while learning a new lifestyle that will promote slimness. If you focus on the negatives, you're just making it all a lot harder on yourself.
If you focus on the scale instead of lifestyle-change skills, it is a lot easier to focus on the negatives. On the other hand, if you instead celebrate every little sign of progress toward lifestyle change, it becomes easier and more reliable to measure progress. For a variety of reasons, the scale can be a crapshoot, and it's difficult to predict the results on a daily or weekly basis. If we set a goal to lose x number of pounds per week, we are bound to be disappointed somewhere along the way. If we set a goal to exercise for 30 minutes x number of days, the success of our efforts is readily evident. We did it, and accomplished it in a measurable way that will lead to results on the scale, if we maintain it.