Mindset

I've delayed posting about food this evening as I had a number of people talk with me today about my mindset for my weight loss and I thought that this maybe useful information to share.

I feel that setting yourself up mentally before you embark on a diet is very important and the most important thing is that you actually want to make the change to your lifestyle as if you go into this journey half heartedly you will be setting yourself up for failure. I would advise thinking about the following well before you start your weight loss journey:

• What do you want to achieve?

• Why do you want to lose weight? 

• Identify to yourself what has been the cause of your weight problems in the past. 

• Think about how you will manage the way you think about food. 

• Prepare yourself for the pitfalls, for example if chips are your weakness then plan how you will deal the hurdles this will give you. 

• Identify to yourself what you can use to replace your favourite junk food and totally cut out that junk food. 

• What will your reward be when you reach your target weight? For example I'm going to treat myself to the first good leather jacket I will have had in years. 

• Try not to think of what you're doing as a diet as this implies that there will be an end to what you are doing. Try to think of it as a change of lifestyle and to this end make healthy changes that are sustainable. 

There have been occasions, especially when I first started out, where I've literally had to grit my teeth to get past the temptation to cave in and have sweets and chocolate, but once you've broken the habit it becomes much easier and now I don't even miss junk food and have no plans to start eating chocolate, sweets, cakes etc. again. 

Once you've been losing weight for a while you will also see other benefits such as your stomach capacity shrinking so that you don't feel hungry after smaller meals and also there are the medical benefits: my doctor's jaw hit the floor the last time I saw him as he couldn't believe what I'd achieved (which was a good feeling) and after some tests it looks like my type 2 diabetes will be in remission, I'll know for sure by the middle of next month, there is nothing more motivating than realising you're getting better. 

Another good motivation is when you suddenly start needing new clothes regularly and when you can start buying the clothes you want whenever you want; I can still remember how happy it made me feel when I could buy a pair of jeans from Marks and Spencer.  

Diet Coke Update:

I'm very happy to report that as of today (day 06) my cravings for Diet Coke have ceased and I've had my first day of enjoying a mug of black coffee in the morning and one in the afternoon, getting the caffeine boost is a joy to behold!