I cannot take credit for this - this is awesome! I found this in a blog on MFP.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/aprylcross
Enjoy!
The 10 Commandments of Successful Weight Loss (in my opinion)
I love seeing people succeed. I am motivated by an opportunity to help others succeed and inspired by the community of people holding each other up and, at times, calling each other out when it is warranted (in a kind and concerned way). We all need it sometimes. Some of us more than others.
Today I'm sharing what I think are the 10 Commandments of Losing Weight and Keeping it off for good.
1. Thou Shalt Not believe the hype of fad diets: HCG is the latest but they come in many forms and they prey on our human nature to take the path of least resistance. I say this is number one because you cannot and will not lose weight until you realize you are totally responsible and stop looking to abdicate this responsibility to some external factor.
2. Thou Shalt Not Bounce from Program to Program without giving it a chance to work (The consistency conundrum): Along the same lines of not believing the hype, we also have an innate impatience for seeing results. We think that if we don't drop weight quickly that it has to be because what we're doing isn't working.
Research has shown time and time again that consistency beats out the type of exercise in terms of true measurable change. While understanding why a program works or doesn't is important, don't panic if you start a weight training program and don't see yourself drop 5 lbs instantly.
3. Thou Shalt Not wait until you 'feel' like working out to actually do it: Sometimes, in an effort to be a good example, fitness professionals don't say 'There are days, usually at least once a week, when I really don't want to work out." By keeping this mum, they make it seem like us normal people have less motivation. It's not true. Some days you'll be itching to workout, you will crave it. Other days, you will feel like sitting on the couch and ignoring it.
You have to keep up your consistency and bargain yourself into it. Don't think you're alone when you don't "feel" like it but don't feel like that justifies not doing it either.
4. Thou Shalt Not depend solely on exercise to save you from your destructive eating habits: I exercised for an hour, that means I should be able to eat fast food. Wrong. We all overestimate our burn and underestimate our intake. You will never be able to outexercise a shitty diet. It isn't going to happen. Fix your eating and the exercise is going to be bonus, never look at exercise as a reason to pig out because if you do, you will start to blame the exercise as 'not being effective' and forget that it really was the food you stuffed in your mouth.
5. Thou Shalt Not Set Vague or Unreasonable Goals: What are your goals, exactly? If they are "To Lose Weight" "To Look Better" "To be more healthy" they aren't going to serve the purpose you need them to serve. If you lose a pound, you met your goal.
Make it meaningful and make it measurable. In the same way "To Lose 30 Pounds in the next month" can also be a mistake because it is unreasonable unless you are seriously overweight and when you don't meet it, you will be disappointed. Do not set yourself up for failure. Work with someone to develop goals if you can't seem to get them quite right.
6. Thou Shalt Not Half Commit: Going along with #7, once you have good goals, commit to them fully. Have visuals to spur you along, seek out motivation on a daily basis and have action steps in place to get you there. Half ass effort will get half ass results. Commit fully and be ready for the full transformation of yourself.
7. Thou Shalt Not be a Cardio Queen (or King): I see you in the gym. You come, walk on the treadmill while talking on your phone and reading a book. This is your routine. It's stale. It's tedious. It's unproductive. No wonder you hate to exercise. You are boring yourself to death. I am not against cardio exercise, in fact, I enjoy running and Turbo Fire very much but it is not and should not be the only exercise you're doing. You need to do strength training.
Did you know that after age 30, unless you do something to stop it, you lose a pound of muscle? What that means is, as you age, if your eating continues as is you will automatically gain weight because you don't have as much muscle to burn the calories you're putting in your body. Please, please do some strength training. The resources are out there - take advantage of them.
8. Thou Shalt Not stand for negative self-talk to derail your efforts: Man, sometimes your mind is a real bitch. You can be going along all confident and then from some dark corner she shouts out that you look fat today or that you're never going to be able to meet your goals. Your mind is a garden and what you plant will grow. Even planting good seeds and growing beautiful, confident thoughts still requires weeding out the bad that try to take hold and choke the flowers out.
Be careful what you think of because you just might get it.
9. Thou Shalt Not Let the Scale Make or Break Your Day: Did I say your brain is a bitch? The scale is a bitch some days too. The even worse thing is that these two can work together, gossiping about you, saying awful things until you start to believe what they say is true and what they say is permanent.
It's time to shut these bitches up.
Repeat to yourself as often as you need to to make it stick that Lots of things cause scale ups and downs. While I weigh in daily, I have had to learn not to let it get to me. I have to remind myself I am in this for the long term and one day doesn't make or break all my accomplishments. Plus, measurements, pictures and clothes fitting are all much more reliable means of tracking progress anyway.
10. Thou Shalt Not Lose Weight for Anyone other than Thyself: This is for you. This is about letting the true authentic you that God created shine through so everyone else can see it too. Do not lose weight for someone else (to get them, to keep them). This is your fight, your struggle and in the end, your victory. Do not allow this to be about or for anyone else but you.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/aprylcross
Enjoy!
The 10 Commandments of Successful Weight Loss (in my opinion)
I love seeing people succeed. I am motivated by an opportunity to help others succeed and inspired by the community of people holding each other up and, at times, calling each other out when it is warranted (in a kind and concerned way). We all need it sometimes. Some of us more than others.
Today I'm sharing what I think are the 10 Commandments of Losing Weight and Keeping it off for good.
1. Thou Shalt Not believe the hype of fad diets: HCG is the latest but they come in many forms and they prey on our human nature to take the path of least resistance. I say this is number one because you cannot and will not lose weight until you realize you are totally responsible and stop looking to abdicate this responsibility to some external factor.
2. Thou Shalt Not Bounce from Program to Program without giving it a chance to work (The consistency conundrum): Along the same lines of not believing the hype, we also have an innate impatience for seeing results. We think that if we don't drop weight quickly that it has to be because what we're doing isn't working.
Research has shown time and time again that consistency beats out the type of exercise in terms of true measurable change. While understanding why a program works or doesn't is important, don't panic if you start a weight training program and don't see yourself drop 5 lbs instantly.
3. Thou Shalt Not wait until you 'feel' like working out to actually do it: Sometimes, in an effort to be a good example, fitness professionals don't say 'There are days, usually at least once a week, when I really don't want to work out." By keeping this mum, they make it seem like us normal people have less motivation. It's not true. Some days you'll be itching to workout, you will crave it. Other days, you will feel like sitting on the couch and ignoring it.
You have to keep up your consistency and bargain yourself into it. Don't think you're alone when you don't "feel" like it but don't feel like that justifies not doing it either.
4. Thou Shalt Not depend solely on exercise to save you from your destructive eating habits: I exercised for an hour, that means I should be able to eat fast food. Wrong. We all overestimate our burn and underestimate our intake. You will never be able to outexercise a shitty diet. It isn't going to happen. Fix your eating and the exercise is going to be bonus, never look at exercise as a reason to pig out because if you do, you will start to blame the exercise as 'not being effective' and forget that it really was the food you stuffed in your mouth.
5. Thou Shalt Not Set Vague or Unreasonable Goals: What are your goals, exactly? If they are "To Lose Weight" "To Look Better" "To be more healthy" they aren't going to serve the purpose you need them to serve. If you lose a pound, you met your goal.
Make it meaningful and make it measurable. In the same way "To Lose 30 Pounds in the next month" can also be a mistake because it is unreasonable unless you are seriously overweight and when you don't meet it, you will be disappointed. Do not set yourself up for failure. Work with someone to develop goals if you can't seem to get them quite right.
6. Thou Shalt Not Half Commit: Going along with #7, once you have good goals, commit to them fully. Have visuals to spur you along, seek out motivation on a daily basis and have action steps in place to get you there. Half ass effort will get half ass results. Commit fully and be ready for the full transformation of yourself.
7. Thou Shalt Not be a Cardio Queen (or King): I see you in the gym. You come, walk on the treadmill while talking on your phone and reading a book. This is your routine. It's stale. It's tedious. It's unproductive. No wonder you hate to exercise. You are boring yourself to death. I am not against cardio exercise, in fact, I enjoy running and Turbo Fire very much but it is not and should not be the only exercise you're doing. You need to do strength training.
Did you know that after age 30, unless you do something to stop it, you lose a pound of muscle? What that means is, as you age, if your eating continues as is you will automatically gain weight because you don't have as much muscle to burn the calories you're putting in your body. Please, please do some strength training. The resources are out there - take advantage of them.
8. Thou Shalt Not stand for negative self-talk to derail your efforts: Man, sometimes your mind is a real bitch. You can be going along all confident and then from some dark corner she shouts out that you look fat today or that you're never going to be able to meet your goals. Your mind is a garden and what you plant will grow. Even planting good seeds and growing beautiful, confident thoughts still requires weeding out the bad that try to take hold and choke the flowers out.
Be careful what you think of because you just might get it.
9. Thou Shalt Not Let the Scale Make or Break Your Day: Did I say your brain is a bitch? The scale is a bitch some days too. The even worse thing is that these two can work together, gossiping about you, saying awful things until you start to believe what they say is true and what they say is permanent.
It's time to shut these bitches up.
Repeat to yourself as often as you need to to make it stick that Lots of things cause scale ups and downs. While I weigh in daily, I have had to learn not to let it get to me. I have to remind myself I am in this for the long term and one day doesn't make or break all my accomplishments. Plus, measurements, pictures and clothes fitting are all much more reliable means of tracking progress anyway.
10. Thou Shalt Not Lose Weight for Anyone other than Thyself: This is for you. This is about letting the true authentic you that God created shine through so everyone else can see it too. Do not lose weight for someone else (to get them, to keep them). This is your fight, your struggle and in the end, your victory. Do not allow this to be about or for anyone else but you.
