One of America’s most common New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. Yet the day-to-day decisions that make this resolution successful can often be difficult to maintain. To realize your goal, inspire yourself with simple but dynamic truths to keep you on track.
» 1. “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” — Jim Rohn
Let this quote remind you that your weight loss goal isn’t just about how you look, but how you feel, and even more important, about your physical well-being. Getting to and maintaining a sound weight may prevent a slew of health-related problems.
Research has shown that people who regularly consume a variety of plant foods, such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and whole grains, have reduced risks of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain cancers and other chronic diseases. All of the above-mentioned foods also encourage healthy weight loss. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of cancer.
Remind yourself of the above health factors to maintain your motivation.
» 2. “The time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something.” — Carl Sandburg
Sometimes we can get into the rut of negative thinking that tells us that because we’ve been “bad,” we might as well give up. This kind of destructive thinking may occur for many reasons, including: holiday weight gain, stress eating, or when we are too hard on ourselves. Remind yourself that the past is the past, and right now you have the capacity to make healthy choices.
Focusing on short-term goals may help. For instance, instead of concentrating on how much weight you want to lose over the long haul, think about how much better you’ll feel the next morning if you make healthy choices today.
» 3. “You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” — Lucille Ball
This quote reminds us how important it is to nurture oneself in the most productive way. It tells us that if you love yourself, you’re more likely to take all the positive steps to achieve your goals.
To love yourself, you have to remember to take care of yourself as you would any other person you care for. Ask yourself: If you were your own best friend, what would you say to yourself to keep going? Most likely you would encourage healthy food choices, daily exercise — and forgiveness.
Listen to this voice every day.
» 4. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” — Dr. Seuss
Ah, the lyrical wisdom of Dr. Seuss. What a wonderful way to remind us all that ultimately, we are the ones who make our own decisions. Yes, life can be stressful, at times even downright tragic. Still, we can make the best choices possible within our circumstances to take care of ourselves.
Remember this when you are faced with situations that in the past may have derailed your weight loss attempts.
Have you ever dived into too many pieces of pepperoni pizza when something bad occurred in your life? Ate a half a bag of chocolate chip cookies, zoned out and depressed in front of the TV? Next time you’re stressed and don’t feel like cooking, treat yourself to a healthier type of take-out food such as Thai (spicy chicken soup and mixed veges anyone?), then sit back and sip a warm cup of organic cocoa or green tea. You can still make good choices when life gets rough.
Let 2015 be the year when you take better care of yourself with action, heart and mind!
Tracy Shawn lives and writes on the Central Coast of California. Her debut novel, “The Grace of Crows” (Amazon link: http://amzn.to/19mA6r1), is about what happens after a woman with debilitating anxiety reconnects with a childhood friend who has become homeless and living under a pier in Malibu. (Amazon Author Page Link:https://www.amazon.com/author/tracyshawn).
