We all dream of a better us. We dream of getting back into shape again, feeling fit and strong, eating better, and being thinner. It’s a long journey back into the skinny pants. We feel great and full of energy after a few months of regular exercise, better diet, and weight loss. Then we hit our goal weight, stop exercising, slide back into old eating patterns, and gradually regain back to our old weight.
This was not a part of our dream. To live our dream we have to learn to think and behave differently. When we lose weight and get back in shape we should never think of ourselves as done. We should either be striving mightily toward our goals or living the life of the person we want to be, not the person we used to be.
Keeping it off. More than 90% of people who maintain a healthy weight following a substantial weight loss are regular exercisers. The largest study to assess this issue, the National Weight Control Registry, recommends an hour of exercise most days. This same study shows that about 75% of successful weight maintainers eat breakfast daily and weigh themselves at least weekly.
Only you can do it for you. Only you have the power to make healthy changes in your lifestyle; you just have to decide to do it. Once you get started, be the boulder rolling downhill. Nothing can stop you but you. Choose to do what is necessary to accomplish your goals, then live the life of the person you aspire to be.
Your future belongs to you; own it.
