"Trust a few" are words contained in today's video.
Sound advice, but it does raise the question...
....who are the few that I can trust?.......

An analysis of this question could begin
with one's close family circle,
moving out to friends,
and then expand to acquaintances,
and finally to others such as well-known authorities and experts.

 Sometimes we think of Trust as a Totality,
when actually it is a matter of degree and situation.

I like to think of myself as trustworthy,
and I would never steal money from you,
but you might not be wise to leave me alone in your house
with a box of your favorite chocolates.

You might be able to trust the accuracy of my opinion
about weight-loss, diet, calories, food-intake,
but you would be unwise to do so
regarding issues such as how electricity works,
or what makes a vehicle operational.

 There are many nutritional and diet experts,
and many of them give opposing advice.
Each of us must distinguish, and choose for ourselves,
who are the few that we can individually trust.

 Sometimes we feel stuck.
Stuck in our eating patterns;
stuck in how much we weigh,
stuck in how we feel about ourselves.
This tends to lead us to a feeling of
hopelessness that we can’t seem to shake.

A look at new possibilities can move us
away from that black- and -white thinking
that we have during the times when we feel stuck.

When we start considering possibilities,
we alter our thinking just slightly to consider
that there is a possibility that things could be different,
that other behavioral options can exist for us.

We don’t have to start with an actual change,
just a consideration of a possible change.

When we’re on the sofa, and junk food is calling us by name,
we can choose to eat it, Or, we have the possibility
of making another choice. We can choose to go online,
or take a walk. We canchoose a different activity.

Do we have to? No! 
Do we want to? Maybe No
But there is a part of us that might like
experimenting with doing something different

Will we go online? Will we take a walk?
Perhaps, if we know the possibility of doing it exists.
No pressure, no rules, just internally giving ourselves an option.

If weight-loss success is our goal,
we have options, and those options give us
a variety of different paths to get there.

Weight-loss and maintenance of that weight-loss
depends on our food-intake and exercise,
which involves the physical process of weight-loss.

There is also a mental side to successful weight-loss,
and people talk a lot about motivation,
which is a way where we can be driven
to start a weight-loss plan and stick to it.

However, the basis of the ability to see a weight-loss
process through is Faith...or what one believes. 

Faith is an underlying force which gives strength to succeed
in changing our bodies.  It is also the driving force
we need to make changes in any area.

At the beginning of a diet,
we need to have faith that we will succeed.
Otherwise we can't really get going.

No one tries something without at least a litle belief
in his or her ability to achieve their goals.
We don't need to be certain of our success,
but we do need to have faith that it is in our ability to achieve it.

Wanting to lose weight is a good start,
but we then it's time for a decision.
We need to choose one plan over another,...even if it is for a limited time...
and put faith in someone, or in some system.
In the end we have to trust someone and something.

There is a saying: "When the Going Get's Tough,
the Tough Get Going", but it isn't the tough that keep going,
it's those people with Faith.

Unless we have faith, we are likely to fall apart
and retreat wheever we face a difficulty.
And difficulties will come, they can't be avoided.

Weight-loss depends on making lifestyle changes and breaking old habits.
It is like swimming against the current of the river or the ocean.
It is much easier to keep doing the things we are used to doing,
regardless of the impact on our bodies and our health.

A few suggestions to help find faith are:

Remember our past successes.
This isn't the first time we have achieved something,
either in school, at work, or in our personal lives.
If we have achieved something in our past,
there's no reason why we can't lose weight.

None of us is THAT different.
Other people find ways to lose weight and keep it off,
and so can we. We aren't that different or that much weaker
than many other people.

Take a blind leap.
In a way, not doing anything is failing.
Not doing anything is failing to make a change.
Sometimes we just need to take a leap of faith,
to try something out and hope for the best.

Faith isn't something we're born with.
It is something we develop over time.
Each of us has the power to change ourselves
to be someone who has faith in themselves.

Ultimately, what matters is what we, ourselves, believe.

Here's the video that goes with the adjacent article.
A technical glitch sometimes occurs that keeps the combo from posting properly,
when this occurs, my solution is to load the video in a separate blog as I did today.
Live in the Solution...not the Problem. 

I find that concentrating on what I can’t do,
tends to limit my choices.
Concentrating on what I can do
tends to expand my choices.

 There’s no law that a person has to exercise
for at least 20 minutes or more to get even the slightest benefit;
or that one must do high intensity exercise;
or that strength training requires the use
of more than one’s own body weight.

In fact, small bouts of fitness add up.
Something is always better than nothing.

Dieting is another thing I can’t do perfectly.
What I can do is make my food choices better quality,
and I can eat smaller food portions of everything I choose to eat.
I can choose to mostly eat foods that make me less hungry,
like those containing more protein or fiber and less sugar.
My goal is to do well, not to be perfect.
I can’t be perfect, but I can do well.

It is easy to get a very black and white view of fit living.
Either you are dieting and exercising or you’re not. 
 There’s another way….a rainbow view.
We can see all sorts of colors and shades in between.
Adopting a “fit” lifestyle is very individualized
and it often includes more than a specific diet and exercise.
What makes one person fit may never work for another.
It could be genetics, environment, health, or just because
our lives run in completely different directions.

There is no on-or-off of the fit living issue.
We are just on the road.

It’s a winding road with mountains, bridges,
detours, vacation spots and a million other things.
We can be positive drivers and enjoy the scenery, 
sing with the radio, have fun with our passengers,
and find ways around the obstacles of the road.
It’s even okay to stop at the vacation spots here and there.

  We can choose not to give away our freedom
by saying: "I can’t."  There are far more choices with "I can."
When we hit a roadblock, we don’t have to say…

"I can’t go on until this clears away.”

Instead" we can say

"What can I do from here, right where I am now?

Today's video is one of the "Ask Grandma" series made specifically for YouTube,
if you are interested, you can see it by clicking the link here 
which is located under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.