Have you ever been here?
You start a weight loss program, detox, cleanse, group program (you name it) and the first few days you are rocking it.
But then, it doesn’t seem as fun, or something happens in your life – personally or professionally – and you get thrown off a bit, and you stop.
I have been here, too. We tend to go after the shiny object in front of us instead of focusing on what’s really going to help us achieve healthy, permanent weight loss.
Thing is, if it was really about just eat this, or run this amount, we’d all be a size 2, right? This means there is something deeper at work here that the weight loss industry doesn’t talk about nearly enough.
But when I look at my own successful journey and the success of my clients, there is a common thread.
It’s called commitment.
Now, this may seem like a buzzword or something lots of people say with no actual way to do this commitment thing. That’s why I wanted to break it down for you and help you understand exactly how commitment can help you make peace with your body and mind – once and for all.
Combine Commitment With Consistency And You Will Succeed
The thing about commitment is whether you want to get healthier, be a better partner, better parent, or achieve more at work, you have to couple your commitment with consistency.
When life is going well, it’s easy to be committed. And yet, every day of the week brings about its own set of challenges and roadblocks. In fact – that’s what you can expect from life and what matters is how you handle those curveballs.
So how do you establish commitment?
Every Monday, start off with the right mindset. Get clear on what you want to accomplish in the week, set intentions, and decide to stay focused – whether it’s going to the gym, eating a bit better, or skipping the afternoon latté… Break big things down into smaller chunks so you don’t get overwhelmed. This helps kick-start that consistency every week.
When you don’t have the right mindset, you don’t take inspired action, and it’s easy to spiral downwards.
To prevent that spiral, ask yourself this: What do I want most out of my life?
Notice this is not asking what you want in the moment, but your overall goals and dreams for your life. Every day you have the choice to spiral downwards or upwards. Remembering the bigger picture for yourself keeps you moving forward.
Decode Your Excuses
There is also a second part that helps us keep our commitment and stay consistent. It’s all about putting yourself on the priority list.
There was a point in my life when washing the floor seemed more important than going to the gym.
I would tell myself that serving my house and my family was the better choice. But this made me resentful and, as a result, I was not always putting out the best version of me.
The amazing women I work with tend to have similar excuses. These are high achieving, high capacity women. What I’ve found is that the more driven, the more successful you are, the smarter you are at rationalizing your choices.
You believe your excuses are the truth.
Excuses like…
But the kids after school game…
This project at work is sucking my energy…
I have to meet this deadline, so I don’t have time right now…
Now, I know it’s not ALL excuses. I get that commitment to family matters or to your work, friends, etc. I have those same values in my own life.
But in your heart of hearts, you know when you are not there for yourself.
You hit snooze for the gym every morning. You drink that glass of wine at night telling yourself you’ll start again tomorrow. But now you feel like you’ve “fell off the wagon” – and the truth is you stay off.
And you wait to start again. You wait till next week, next month, next year – when things are a bit easier.
You can stay in that land for a pretty long time until something drives you to wake up to your life. – maybe you see yourself in the mirror or in a picture a friend snapped when you weren’t looking, and you think “Oh my god, is that me?”
I want you to know that you don’t have to let your past mistakes or failures hold you back. Once you are able to decode your excuses, you then can begin to create a concrete action plan and vision for yourself.
Action Over Feelings
At the top, I asked you to think about what you want out of life – not just in the moment – but what you truly want for the time you have on this planet.
This is a hard question. In fact, it’s so hard that when I ask women what they truly want, they usually end up saying “I don’t know” and telling me what they don’t want instead.
“Jen, I don’t want to feel crappy, irritable, exhausted, sad, lonely, etc.”
You have to flip that around in order to create a super clear vision for yourself – one based on what you DO want, not on what you don’t want. Because when you have that vision, it makes it easier to choose the veggies over the chips. And those little things lead to your bigger changes.
Your vision has to be so motivating and inspiring so that it will carry you through the week – through the ups and the downs. And you can’t let your feelings get in the way. You have to commit to your vision and do what it takes. But a lot of people don’t like doing that…and so they stay stuck.
Why?
Because this is something that no one’s telling you: feelings are seductive. They can make you take action (the wrong actions), or it can halt them.
Don’t let feelings become justifiable reasons you don’t make the commitment to lose weight and make peace with your body.
Do you know how many times a week I feel nervous, scared, or tired? That’s life for most people. We are all battling something every single day.
If I didn’t commit to a vision, those above feelings would be enough for me to pull back, hold back, and break my commitment to myself.
But it’s never worth it.
This is why it is so important to find out what YOU need for healthy, permanent weight loss.
You Are Not A Failure
If you’ve tried a method and it didn’t work, it doesn’t mean you are a failure. It just means that thing didn’t work for you. You’ve got to keep your hope alive!
Weight loss is not the same for everyone. That’s why I encourage you to seek out honest guidance and real weight loss strategies not based on quick fixes, deprivation – or even a diet at all.
Wondering how you can get started? Check out my 14 Day Healthy Weight Loss Kickstart. It’s designed to help you learn how to make better food choices, how to actually fit exercise into your busy life, and how you can stop soothing your emotions with food by learning the difference between emotional and physiological hunger.
This week, craft that first sentence for the vision you want to create for yourself. Pop that sentence into a comment below. One of the best ways to really get started is to voice why it matters to you – why you matter to yourself.
