Good Read!

My friend in Utah is also trying very hard to get off some extra pounds. She sent me this short article and I thought I'd share. It's worth reading and taking to heart.
~Elise


By Diane Petrella, MSW

If you monitor your weight loss progress, you probably look to your bathroom scale for feedback. Or perhaps you gauge pounds lost by how your clothes feel. While these visible indicators show you’re releasing weight, they don’t reveal the whole story. As any yo-yo dieter knows, these progress markers can come and go. Some other signs of success, however, aren’t so obvious, but once you achieve them they’re with you forever. A missing element in many weight loss approaches is developing your inner strength. You’ll reach your weight loss goal more easily when you erase negativity and doubt from your mind. Here are five signs that prove you’ve done so.

1. You Have Patience Many people feel discouraged when they hit a plateau or the pounds don’t come off fast enough. They then give up too quickly. Permanent weight loss takes time. When you feel defeated re-evaluate your nutrition and exercise plan, and have patience. Optimal health requires time to change old ways of thinking that contributed to gaining weight in the first place. Patience helps you do that.

2. You Persevere Through Set-backs As you develop new lifestyle habits, you may falter sometimes. We all do. It doesn’t matter that you slip; what matters is what you do about it. Use set-backs as a valuable opportunity to strengthen your strong side. Each time you persevere, you develop confidence. You weaken that taunting inner voice that says, “See, you can’t do this.” Perseverance responds, “Yes, I can”.

3. You Accept Your Body Accepting your body doesn’t mean you tolerate being overweight. It means you honor your body as it is, while helping it become the best it can be. If it’s a big leap right now to “love” or even “like” your body, that’s OK. What’s important is to respect it. That means speaking to your body with kind words. It means giving it nutritious foods and movement so it thrives. You’ll reach your weight loss goals when you stop rebelling against your body. As you accept your body as the treasured gift it is, taking good care of it becomes your only option.

4. You Focus on Your Goal Focus on where you’re headed instead of obsessing about where you are. You can’t move forward if your mind dwells on self-critical thoughts about being overweight. Shift negative attention away from your current weight and concentrate on the positive lifestyle changes you’re making. When your desire to look forward overshadows the tendency to complain about where you are, you’ll reach your goal more easily.

5. You Make Yourself a Priority To achieve weight loss success, your well-being must be of prime importance. This means setting boundaries. For example, if you plan to exercise after work and your friend asks to go shopping, what do you do? Do you skip exercise or do you skip shopping? If breaking promises to yourself becomes a pattern, you’re either not committed to your goals or you make other people’s needs more important than your own. When you make yourself a priority, you’ll not only reach your weight loss goal, your success will last forever.