GET IT RIGHT IN YOUR HEAD!!!

The discussion regarding what produces permanent weigh-loss continues. Please see DON'T LISTEN TO LOSERS, LISTEN TO MAINTAINERS! and THE EXPERTS WEIGH IN to catch up.  I have plenty to add to this discussion, but I am going to start with the most important point.

GET IT RIGHT IN YOUR HEAD!!

I'm amazed at how often people overlook this very essential key to weight loss.  I've endured hundreds of discussions about portion control, calorie counts, and which exercise promises the leanest abs.  I've suffered through all the cheesy Cosmopolitan and Glamour magazine articles dumbing down the information needed to get that perfect beach body.  I've Dealed A Meal, I've Weight Watched, and been properly introduced to Jenny Craig.  I've been to South Beach, gone Primal, and been in The Zone.  I've gotten advice from experts, help from doctors, and tips from friends.  I have been exposed to every single remedy designed to cure the fat girl.  Take it from me, while the plans differ and the experts bicker...you ain't losing shit until you get it right in your head!

You have to find the motive that will carry you through all the temptations; all the dinner parties, and barbecues, and meals eaten out.  You have to find the inspiration that will carry you past the hot dogs and the cheesecake, time and time again.  You have to dig deep to find the energy to drag yourself to the gym one more time this week.  You must find the drive that makes it possible to chose all this expert advice about balancing your carbs, drinking water, and skipping the dessert tray.  You must find the motivation over and over and over again.  If you are someone my size, you must find the energy to do this for possibly the next two or more years of your life.

If you've bought into the notion that all this is achievable by simply telling yourself, "I want to do this for my husband and kids," you have just told yourself a lie as big as your ass!  That ain't gonna do it!  If you think the doctor telling you to lower your cholesterol and lose a few pounds is what will finally tip the scale in your favor, you are crazy!  I have seen people on 10 different medications who are knocking on death's door still reach for a doughnut!  You better get real hedonistic and real selfish, real fast, and figure out what TRULY motivates you.  Maybe it's making love to a man you've only dreamed about, maybe it's getting to star in your own reality TV show, maybe it's about looking beautiful enough to piss your ex-husband's new girlfriend off.  I hope it's something simpler, but the worse it sounds the more likely it is true!  All I know is you have got to find the push that is going to make you keep going when all the excitement of week one on a diet begins to fade.  For me, the hope of lower cholesterol numbers and being around longer to enjoy my family has never won out over pizza.

This is your homework assignment.  I want you all to think about what will push you to carry on.  I'd love to hear what your big motivators are.  I'm sure some will be safe and politically correct.  I just want to be healthier and have more energy... BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!  Maybe you do just want more energy to play with your kids, but if I'm gonna get real with myself, that ain't enough for me!  I am hoping to hear some slightly out of the box responses, but if not, then I will be the one to break with tradition. Tomorrow is my big reveal- can't wait to hear yours!


"The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret to outward success." -Henry Ward Beecher