To make any diet a successful one, you need to be committed to it. In fact, you can only reach success with the right mindset. To prepare yourself, you need to know what stage you're in before you can move to the next stage of your diet.
The first stage is pre-contemplation. You don't see yourself as being overweight. You don't feel like changing yourself. Only strong pressure will lead you to seek help. But then you would resist and just be demoralized as you see your own situation as hopeless.
The second stage is contemplation. This is where you acknowledge that you have an overweight problem and start to think of a solution. But you're not willing to perform that solution. You would just brood over it, knowing what actions to take to make a change but never ready to do so. You'll procrastinate about performing the solution.
The third stage is preparation. You have finally decided to do something about your overweight problem. You move on from brooding about your problem to realizing your solution. You would also start to think about the future where you're slimmer and feeling much healthier. But at this stage you're not fully resolved yet. You would still have second thoughts about the solution because it requires you to change your lifestyle.
And the fourth stage is action. You start to take action in losing weight. You would start choosing the food you eat and do some form of exercise every day. It's the first step in achieving your targeted goal.
You should always set goals when losing weight. If you don't set your goals, then it's very possible that your whole dieting plan might not go the way you imagined it.
Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
List the following:
1. What is your current situation right now? List all of your eating habits, food preferences, everything that could affect your weight loss. Working out, etc.
2. What is the reason you want to lose weight? This could be an upcoming event, summer, or even for a certain special someone. List the single BIGGEST reason you can think of.
3. What are the benefits you get from your weight loss? List AS MANY as you can. It can be health, better energy, admired by partner, etc. This should be your main motivator.
4. What is your goal? For example, I want to lose XX pounds of weight in XX days. Write this in bold and make it really sink in. I would personally say that setting a goal of more than 10 pounds per 2 weeks is not realistic, especially if this is your first attempt at a goal like this. Be realistic. You must write, I want, not I wish.
Write everything down and look at that paper every day. Put it in a place where you can see it. Once you see it every day, you'll constantly be reminded of WHY you do this and what the benefits are.
Please do not skip this stage if you are truly interested in obtaining a healthy weight.
BE PERSISTENT ONCE YOU TAKE ACTION BECAUSE IT'S NOT GOING TO BE EASY.
