Many decisions are successful only if they are made on the back of other decisions. In this case, you will not lose weight unless you decide to eat healthier foods.
You will succeed in quitting junk and start eating better when you are able to stay focused and renounce those foods you love, such as chocolate, bread, and dairy.
To succeed, you must treat your decision-making just as you would build a house; by first laying a solid foundation before putting up the walls; even though the most exciting part is adding the final touches and decorating, this can only be done after the construction is finished.
Can you think of anyone that would not like to be blessed with being free of bad habits, bad food choices, frustrating eating compulsions and indulgences? Most surely not… however, the first step is to lay a firm foundation upon which to add life changes one at a time.
Make a list of the things you want to change and the decisions you must make in regards to your eating habits and behaviors related to weight-loss. For example:
- I decide to quit drinking coffee.
- I decide to eat more raw foods.
- I decide to eat more fruits and vegetables.
- I decide to cut out salt.
- I decide to stop eating sugar.
- I decide to stop drinking sodas.
- I decide to stop eating chips.
Be as specific as possible, and list the things that affect you in an obvious way, and which you are clearly lacking or over-doing.
In life, big decisions involve and are made up of many smaller but equally important decisions. Let’s say that your wish is to get over a sugar addiction. To make this wish a reality, you may have to give up your daily visits to the doughnut shop as well as to other places where temptations linger. You may also need to avoid stressful situations, because stress may set off your sugar cravings.
Likely you will have to take note of key places and situations that trigger your bad habits and stay away from them for a while, at least until you are certain that you can resist the temptations they create.
In many instances, big battles are lost when we fail to focus on and win the smaller battles, the ones we deal with every day. Therefore, to succeed in your personal weight loss battle, take your list; choose one of the decisions and then focus on it like a laser beam.
Next, write down how you will put that decision into practice. Include the places and situations you may need to avoid; the new habits you need to learnlike going to the store on a full stomach; and anything else that helps you control your bad cravings.
It is best to deal with only one weakness at a time and examine your entire lifestyle for patterns related to it. Write down all the changes you must make to succeed and then concentrate all your energies on winning the battle against that one specific weakness.
When you attempt to deal with many big decisions at the same time you will get overwhelmed and will most likely fail at making the necessary changes. Choose your decisions wisely and make them complement each other so that you stay well motivated and keep moving forward.
Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time.
