You are fat. Chubby, chunky, husky, robust, rotund, plump, portly, large, stout, stubby, blubbery, flabby: fat. Look in the mirror, at your pants size, on the scale. Perhaps it crept up on you one fast food lunch at a time. Maybe you’ve always been heavy. Either way, you’ve decided; today is your day. Your road to skinny starts now.
But how? There are of course the common answers. Good diet and proper exercise. Of course, you reply. I knew that already, and I knew you’d tell to do it. But really, how do I do it? Where do I begin? What diet, which exercise? What happens if it doesn’t work? Well, you are going to be fat, just the way you are now.
The most difficult part on the highway to weight loss will not be found in the gym. Nor will it be found in the sweat that drips down your face. Your down turn will come very slowly. You will begin enthusiastic and energetic, and then the wave of doubt will set in. Or maybe worry, or even time constraints. What can you do to handle all of these things? What is the miracle answer to finally being able to drop that weight that has been holding you back for so long? The answer is simple and easy. The journey to thing just got a little easier.
The single most important factor to making sure you lose weight successfully is this: determine why you’re doing it. Why is it that you want to lose weight? Of course you want to be healthy and look good, but what truly sparks your desire? Think long and hard: picture yourself slim. What are you doing, where are you going, what do you have on? This is your answer. Write it down in a journal. Flesh it out until it is precisely the moment you are working toward.
If you want to be healthy, feel attractive, and keep up with your kids, your why might be “to play tag wearing short shorts in the park.” Make it as real as it is going to be. Put it down on paper. Give yourself ten good whys. Now you have them and they are cement. Use these as little reminders to self that will keep you motivated to keep going on. Is it a vacation you are after?
A photo of the tiny seats on European public transportation will be a good reminder for you to stay on you treadmill. A JCPenny’s catalog in the take out menu drawer will magically remind you to eat a salad. Your weight loss journey and the motivation it takes to succeed are very personal, but your ‘whys’ shouldn’t be. Tell you ‘whys’ to the people closest to you. Sharing your goals will help to hold you accountable and help you to succeed.
Regardless of what it is, your answer lies within you. Your reason why will ultimately be the driving force behind all that you do in your life. In this particular instance, having your why will be the force that forces you to act (or not act) in order to achieve your goal. Your why will get you up out of bed or off the couch. It will lace your trainers. Your why will make that salad look great and the sore muscles feel victorious. Armed with your own personal secret weapon, your success is all but guaranteed.
