If I were to ask you “Why do you want to lose weight and get healthy?” You could probably rattle off a few reasons: “I want to live longer”, “I want to have more energy”, “I want to look better”, etc., etc. But, how many of those reasons come to mind when you’re staring down a piece of birthday cake or a plate of your favorite pasta dish? I’m going to guess 0!! Wouldn’t it be easier to make healthy choices if those reasons popped into your head when unhealthy options were right in front of you?
One of the most important skills for lifetime weight loss and health is to remember to set reasonable goals and remember them when making your choices. Think of your goal as the light at the end of a tunnel. The tunnel gets lighter with each step toward that goal, but you can’t take those steps if you don’t know which way to walk. These goals are the motivation that sustains you when the going gets tough. But just KNOWING what your goals are is not enough…. These goals have to be readily accessible when you need them. What if I told you that to make this happen it would only take 1 – 3 minutes per day? Sounds good right!!
The first step is to list all the reasons that you want to lose weight and get healthy; the good, the bad, and the vain. No reason is wrong as long as it’s YOURS! I like to call my list “The List of Beneficence.” Here is a picture of my very 1st list that I keep in my phone in a note card app:
Notice that my list is mainly about physical fitness and appearance. There are an infinite number of reasons and they can be as selfless or selfish as you want…..So long as they motivate you.
OK! So now that you have your list, how are you going to remember it? You read it everyday at least once per day (but 2x is better). It is important to remember to read it everyday. In order to do so you must either see it everyday or remind yourself to read it everyday. As you can see above, I have mine in a note card app on my phone. Then I set a reminder in my calendar that pops up on my phone and makes a noise reminding to me to read my cards…
There are an infinite number of possible ways to remind yourself. Some of my clients have their list hand written on an index card next to their bed. This way they will see them when they 1st get up in the morning. Some have them stuck to the mirror, some keep them in the car, etc. Find the way that will work for YOU!! And if you try one way and it doesn’t work find a new way; be creative. The trick its to figure out what is sustainable.
