Sometimes we are own worst enemy.
We can choose to build ourselves up
with encouragement and motivational thoughts,
or tear ourselves apart for a perceived failure or mistake
which limits our ability to move forward.

Do you say things about yourself
that you wouldn’t say out loud to a friend?

I am choosing to consider myself worthy and capable,
and working to build hope and courage in my life
which helps me to pursue my goals.

  We can use our words
to help encourage and motivate ourselves.

If you want to start a daily practice
of working to fill your mind with positive thoughts,
perhaps it will help you to frequently run the following playlist
which automatically plays my positive sayings
back-to-back. It contains about 10 minutes of short videos
but, if you choose, you can watch only a little bit of it.

 To run the Playlist of positive sayings, click HERE. 

For those who are following my “Ask Grandma” videos
click to see my latest one: “How Much Is Enough”
which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.

                       

Most of us have days where we feel that we have tried
and tried but our results are still going nowhere.
We can’t seem to get inspired and excited
about weight-loss and weight-loss maintenance.

We’d like to take a break from it all,
but the food-intake behavior involved with that
wouldn’t maintain our weight,
and we’d only pile on more pounds.

Motivation can only come from inside,
No one is going to come along
and smack us in the face to get us going.

  So what to do?

For me, this is where Persistence, Patience and Consistency comes in.
No matter how I feel, I keep on working …in some manner…
toward keeping my food-intake at or below my calorie burn level.
I continue to record all my food into DietPower every day,
and I work to focus my mind to reflect on positive thoughts.

Eventually, my feelings will shift into a more positive area,
and there’s a good chance that when they do,
my body will still be in the “normal” weight range.
 No Magic,
just a determination toward my committment
to continue on with making a consistent effort.

Many Dieters become involved in the endless search for WHY.

This quote describes a common dieting thought process:

“I sailed right through yesterday feeling great about ….........
and then I decided to to stretch the diet to allow .....…………
The result was a binge after dinner.
I went in the freezer this morning to figure out what I had eaten:
it was ………………........................................................
Why did I do it?
I think it was because……………....................................”

It is often good to analyze one’s successes and obstacles
in order to look for a pattern and form a plan of action.

However, self-analysis can become a substitute for Action.
It offers a temporary refuge from the reality of the obesity
that one despises in themselves,
and provides them with emotional relief,
when they can not bring themselves to actually do
what it takes to leave their obese condition. 
 It's like a passenger on the Titanic saying,
"I'm not getting off this ship until I know WHY it is sinking."

Thinking can facilitate a change in one’s eating behavior,
but such a change must be implemented by Action,
and not be a substitute for it.

I'm just saying.

All of us have people, places and things that we hold dear,
but a value is a belief or a philosophy that is meaningful.
Whether we are consciously aware of them or not, 
every person has a core set of personal values.

Values can range from the commonplace, such as the belief in hard work
and/or punctuality, to those that are more psychological, such as self-reliance,
concern for others, and harmony of purpose.

What do you value most? What are the guides for how you behave,
or are components for you of a valued way of life?

These issues are important when considering one's goals
for weight-loss and for maintenance.  How important is this to you....truly.
Is what it takes for you to lose and maintain a normal weight 
... the effort of lower-calorie food intake, and exercise... 
worth the trade-off for you, personally?

  If it isn't, then don't do it.

                             
 
Have you ever heard a statement like this? 

"There's no point in dieting
....(counting calories or carbs, or controling portions or snacks etc.)...
because you can't do it for life,
and you will just gain all the weight back
as soon as you stop the diet."

 But isn't it strange how you don't hear this?

"There no point in getting out of debt
because it's very, very hard to do,
and once you go off your budget and start spending like crazy,
you'll just end up in debt again."

I really don't see much difference.

Both are choices about how you want to live your life. 
Choices about Lifestyle.
About your personal goals,
and how much effort you are willing to put into achieving them.

Each personal behavior choice shapes our life,
and ultimately, most of those behavior choices are within our control.

  Some behaviors are harder to control than others,
and all of us don't have to fight exactly the same battles,
but the unpopular Truth is that, for many of us, 
achieving and maintaining a normal body size
takes a great deal of effort....forever.