Trick #4: To Help Keep Yourself From Giving Up...

HERE IS A LITTLE TRICK THAT HELPS ME TO CONTINUE EATING WELL AND EXERCISING: Think About The Future!

Sometimes, I have a bad day. Maybe I didn't exercise, maybe I binged, maybe I ate unhealthy snacks or meals. When this happened in the past, I would want to give up and decide that I had ruined my "diet," so I was just going to ignore how healthy or unhealthy my food choices were from then on. Has this ever happened to you?

First of all, keep in mind the voice of Scarlett O'Hara (Gone With The Wind): "Tomorrow is anotha day." In other words, just start fresh tomorrow.

But what I'm about to tell you now is VERY important!! What I will ask myself is, "Are you are not so overweight that it will cause health issues in the future and 100% COMPLETELY content with your body and your image?" That answer to my question is a big, "obese" "No!" I realize that if I give up now, I will want to lose weight in the future. How much weight will I gain before I realize I want to go on another "diet?" When that happens, I my goal from before I quit my efforts will not be the same. My goal will still be to get down to about 200lbs. (+/- 30lbs.).

So what did I do in giving up and going back to eating the way I was before I made this lifestyle change? I put myself farther away from my goal. Now I'm going to have to lose all that weight all over again and then lose the weight that I wasn't able to lose to reach my goal before I gave up!

In other words- let's say I gave up now. My goal weight is 200 pounds and I'm 321 pounds. I had a bad day and figured, "I just ruined everything, now. I'm just going to throw in the towel and give up." And then I went for 6 months before wanting to lose weight again. In that 6 months, let's say I gained 40 pounds, putting me at 361 pounds. I know I still want to be about 200 pounds. So that hasn't changed. But now, not only do I have to lose the 40 pounds just to get back to where I was before I gave up, but then I need to lose the other 121 pounds that I didn't give myself the chance to lose before. So now, instead of just needing to lose 121 pounds, I now need to lose 161 pounds to reach my goal.

So put yourself in that hypothetical situation and ask yourself, "Is my goal going to change if I give up now? And is giving up going to bring me closer to my goal or take me farther away from it?" If I have a bad day, the needle may creep 5 pounds on the scale. But would I rather have it go up 5 pounds from having a bad day, or 40 pounds from giving up and having a bad 6 months?

CONCLUSION: If you are considering giving up, think about the future and if you're going to want to lose weight again. Then think about how far back you are going to put yourself by giving up instead of just having one or two bad days? Honestly, this is how I keep myself from giving up and I think it may help you as well.