I'm Going to Start Today, Repeat 10 Times

How many times do you say this to yourself or do you hear others say "I'm going to start today..." in reference to weight loss efforts? I've said it, you've said it, your friends have said it. Do you ever stop to think this could be causing failure in yourself? As a matter of fact, the whole dieting phase in your life is setting you up for failure anyhow because diets do not work. They simply don't work! You can spend $200/week on prepackaged meals, pay your fees to a dieting club, or whatever else you may be doing... but is it necessary to do so?

Everyone is different. Some people feel the need to become dependent upon diet pills, others believe a magic shake is key for the mornings, some need to be forced to eat less by having surgery, and some take control of their lives by changing their habits and changing their lifestyles. See, what you must know is that a diet will set you up for failure. Don't ever "start today", just make changes instead. If you find yourself eating more calories or more fat than you want to be eating, just eat less. When you go to the grocery store, rather than buying a $3 bag of chips, but a $3 bag of apples instead. If you're thirsty, those end caps are very encouraging to grab a pop, but look for the water instead. Bottled water isn't 100% healthy for you, but it's better than filling your body with sugars and carbonation.

Are you "starting" today or are you simply going to make some changes? It's not easy when the world is filled with so many dieting options, but you can do it.

Let me tell you some of the changes I've made. After losing those first 65 pounds, I got kind of hard tracked into working long hours, so guess what that meant? Less working out and less walking. The truth of the matter, that was a choice I made due to ignorance. Instead of taking a few steps, which of course are better than none, I was logging into Facebook and chatting with my friends and family. Not a good option. This morning, I did something differently. I worked for an hour, then instead of logging into Facebook, I grabbed my walking shoes, and took a walk down the block and back. I do live on a dead-end, I do live on what's known as a simple block, however, those few steps I took were a much better choice than logging into Facebook. We can't burn off calories by logging into Facebook.

Another change I made in the recent weeks is where I park at the grocery store. Unless I have someone with me, I park at the far end of the lot, and power pace to the door. I sure do! When I come out, I can't always power pace back to my truck because I may have a cart. Want to know another way of burning calories? Don't push the cart back to your vehicle. If you have four or five bags, carry them. If you have more and can safely carry them without causing injury? Carry them! You will burn more calories and work more muscles carrying your groceries to the far end of the parking lot than you would pushing the cart with your groceries in it.

It's just little changes that can make a difference. You may laugh at this one, but my house is very open and I have two ways to walk to the bathroom. One walk is actually 11 steps more than the other way. Which would you take? Unless it's an emergency, I feel that 11 extra steps for the day is better than not taking any at all. Little changes, that's all it takes. What kind of changes will you make today?