Change Is Easy Once You Really Want It
Feb 14th, 2008 by Frances Lewis
Let’s say it for the record: if you haven’t truly come to the point of WANTING change, then you just aren’t ready to change. And there is nothing that can be done to change that…. Change only can come when YOU are good and ready. Then it is easy!
We humans are creatures of habit. That is because habit is easy and comfortable. Routines are what our typical days are full of. Unfortunately, habit and routine often lead to mediocrity. When we break out of our mold is unusually when we shine the best, have moments of greatness.
The same is true about weight loss, fitness, and developing healthy lifestyles. It is a journey that really just starts with a single step. That step is wanting it. You can want the change because you want to be healthier, have to become healthier because of medical reasons (try not to let it get to this point… because there are things you can do now to prevent or postpone diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and arthritis), or you are just sick and tired of looking and feeling like you do now.
The next steps takes planning, commitment, patience and courage. You have to make new habits and routines to replace the old ones. To do that you have to:
1. Plan - Planning includes making sure that your old fallback snacks are gone from the house and you do not replace them. Instead have healthy replacements to nibble on. Meal planning is also important. This will keep you from making the fast food shuffle. Have the food on hand to prepare the recipes you decide upon. Decide upon the menu
taking into account calories, nutrition, portions size, and fat content.
2. Commitment – Take a picture of yourself before you start on your journey. It will be nice to look back on where you started from; it will remind you why you are this quest to a better and healthier lifestyle. Forget what family or friends say, forget about what’s
“supposed” to happen and just work towards your goals. When you do that, miracles happen. So, hold on and work everyday to achieve them…because you can really change your life.
3. Patience – Remember that you did not get to be overweight or develop unhealthy habits in a day or even a year. Therefore it will take some time to reach your goals. The secret is to keep up practicing good habits and not fall back in the old habits and routines that you had before. This is the real hard part of the whole change scenario. Most people will lapse back into their old, comfortable way of life. They will do this because they are not truly committed to the change in the first place.
4. Courage – To start and continue with your plan to become a healthier person takes a great deal of courage. Think about what you have done. You have changed your old, comfortable unhealthy habits and replaced them with new, unfamiliar healthy ones! Now just keep it up. Soon the new actions will become old habits and very comfortable and you will be well on your way to a healthier lifestyle.
Remember the healthy lifestyle you want to promote encompasses diet, exercise, portion control, limiting your fat intake, and watching your calories. It is a simple concept to undertake when you understand that to lose weight you have to use more energy (calories) than you take in. To maintain your weight you have to use about the same amount of energy (calories) as you take in. That’s it! You’ve done it! Congratulations!
To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world. Take care of yourself, love yourself and let me hear from you.
Frances Lewis
