Another Year – Another Diet??? Really?

Once again it’s the silly season of weight loss. 45 million people began a diet plan last year, how many finished?  Yeah, you guessed it, not many.

I know most had the right intentions but life got in the way.  We aren’t perfect but sometimes all it takes is one failure and we quit! Consider this; if you had slowly but surely stayed on your “program”  how much less would you weigh this year: 20, 35, 50 or even 75 pounds?  Sigh, the “if only’s” guilt your mind now. Why do I quit everything I start? Why did I think I wasn’t worth it? Why am I a failure?

That’s where a nutritional counselor comes in. Get to the root of the problem. It’s a fact that until someone becomes aware of why they do as they do, they will never change. One must get to the “why” before they will experience success. What misconceptions must you overcome?

FACT:  There is no true instant gratification.  We must work for all we acquire through sacrifice or the results rarely last! Don’t agree?  How many sports stars falter when they acquire a multi-million dollar contract?  (Manziel come to mind?)  How many celebrity singers/movie stars fall upon the altar of hero-worship only to get hit by life’s reality stick of peer pressure, drugs, fan worship, million dollar contracts?  How many lottery winners lose it quickly to huge homes, sports cars and other toys they can’t afford?

Too much, too soon! The reward came about before the discipline to maintain it.  Same with weight loss. Your body needs time to adjust to change, “settle in” so to speak, allowing your mind to catch up with this new determined you.

FACT:  The  Process is more important than the progress!  Through the process you’ll learn how to handle challenges – be it defeating saboteurs, temptations, laziness, boredom or whatever and create strategies to overcome.  Through it all you’ll learn self-discipline and confidence so that nothing will stand in the way of a goal.

“Brothers I do not consider myself yet to take hold of it, But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13)

Create goals: chart and track them, what they are, how you accomplished them and the date achieved. Concentrate on your victories and you’ll begin to like this new you and never desire to return to your unhealthy self. That’s similar to true salvation!  Why would a Christian want to go back to the old life of debauchery and unspiritual living?

FACT: Weight loss is an individual challenge. Only you can lose weight, no one else can do it for you!  You are the only one who lives inside your body. You are totally responsible for everything you do whether it is exercising daily or placing food in your mouth. Your choice. Sound discouraging, right? But look at the JOY you experience when by your own determined actions you conquered and chose correctly.

. . . once again, just like Salvation. As much as I want someone to get healthy, they must want it more than I want it for them. I can’t make anyone healthy anymore than I can make them saved!

So my question is:  WHY do you want to get healthier?  What’s motivating you?

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”  (Colossians 3:23)

I’ll begin my blogging year with a series of practical posts on creating mental, physical and spiritual fitness in 2016. Please stay tuned,