I could give you a million reasons for losing weight; chances are you have heard most of them already. But in the end, one reason stands alone and above them all—the one that brought you to this book. Everyone has a different motivation for beginning a diet. Regardless of whether you want to look slimmer, fit into a differ- ent size of clothing, prevent disease, avoid surgery, or be an example to your child,
your personal desire and sense of commitment are the only things that will carry you through to achieving permanent weight loss.
I won’t lie to you: There will be times when the weight will practically fall off, and times when you will want to pack your bags and move into a Krispy Kreme shop. That happens to everyone. In the tough times, it is important to find a way to remind yourself of your ultimate goal, and that single critical reason that spurred you to start dieting in the first place. Find a way to make it real for your- self, something that you can turn to whenever you need to reactivate your motiva- tion. Some examples that seem to work are:
✦ Keep a journal to keep track of your emotional and physical progress.
✦ Post a picture of something that reminds you of your weight loss goal—a photo of your child or grandchild, a postcard of the beach where you hope to wear a new swimsuit, a magazine picture of the wedding dress you plan to wear, or anything else that makes your goal a little more concrete.
✦ Create a chart or graph that will allow you to visualize your day-to-day weight loss.
✦ Create a playlist of songs you find inspirational (and play them often).
✦ Find a diet buddy who can relate to your difficulties and be there when you need to have your motivation reenergized. You can find others like you who are following Joy’s LIFE Diet at www.JoyBauer.com, where you will also find meal plans, additional recipes, weight loss tools, an interactive weight tracker, an activity calculator, nutrition information, and even an online journal to help keep yourself motivated.
In the coming pages you’ll read lots more motivation suggestions in the profiles of real life weight loss superstars. They are here to inspire you! But I also want you to take advantage of your own natural enthusiasm and get started on Joy’s LIFE Diet. Right now.
|