Weight Loss without Worry

     It has been reported that most New Year’s Resolutions are broken by January 22nd.  But the only way your resolution will be a failure is if you give up on it. 

     The road that lead to a goal is rarely a straight path.  There are always bumps and curves along the way, truely successful people expect these bumps and when they happen, find ways to get back on the road.  If your New Year’s Resolution got off to a rocky start here is how to salvage it and turn it into a success.

      Start by using January as a baseline.  Let’s say your resolution was to not snack in front of the TV at night.  And let’s say you succeeded everyday from January 1st through January 22nd but then you had a bad day, ate in front of the TV and called it quits.  Instead of viewing that as a failure, reframe it.  You did not fail to meet your resolution, you succeeded 22 days in one month!  February’s goal now becomes to beat that.  In February you will not eat in front of the TV for at least 23 days during the month.  This allows you to adapt and accept the new habit instead of trying to force it.

     Let me illustrate this by using an example: did you ever learn how to drive a stick shift car?  Do you remember how many times you stalled the car when you were first learning?  Did you give up and declare it a failure?  Not if you wanted to drive!  You just turned the key again and gave it another go…and didn’t it get easier as you got used to it?  Changing an eating habit is no different.  If you have eaten in front of the TV for 20 years, don’t expect your desire to do it to go away in a day.  Habits are programmed into your subconscious, they take time to release. 

     So don’t throw away your New Year’s Resolution, it was a good start, now make February one step better and by the end of the year you will have a new habit and a smaller waistline.