A common behavior is to alternate between
being “good” at sticking to our chosen eating plan,
and being “bad” when one slips.

This can be a frustrating cycle for most of us,
especially when we consider how labeling our “badness”
with regards to our food behaviors creates a self-defeating attitude.

A change in our self-talk and thought will help us
change our attitudes about our eating, our bodies, and our weights,
which will help us to change our behavior.

In terms of weight-loss, our behavior is often an indication
of how we feel inside, which becomes reflected in how
we appear on the outside. When we feel good about ourselves,
we can’t help but become more attractive to others.
THIS is the Ultimate Goal…
to feel better about ourselves inside,
so that our bodies and our personalities will reflect confidence and light to others.

A few things I’ve found to be helpful are:

Be Supportive, Not Critical, of yourself.

People lose weight at different rates.
Weight may drop off quickly at first and then plateau,
or vice versa. One’s body composition may change,
even though their weight stays the same.

The important thing to keep in mind is that
long-term, consistent, and appropriate eating behavior
will bring positive results. Hard work will ultimately pay off.

Reward your Behavior, and not your Weight

People are used to rewarding themselves,
and being rewarded by others for losing pounds,
rather than for changing their behaviors.

However, it is far better not to judge one’s progress
by one’s weight…which is a RESULT of behavior,
but to focus on acknowledging to oneself
that during the week, or the day, or the hour….
one has successfully engaged in BEHAVIORS
which will be rewarded ultimately, at some unknown future time.

 Remember, our thoughts are what guide us to action,
whether they are positive or negative.

If we are self-depreciating in thought,
our behaviors will be unproductive,
and we will become discouraged easily.

On the other hand, if we acknowledge small accomplishments,
like more positive self-talk, increased activity, making
better food intake choices, then our behaviors will reflect that.

We will be more encouraged to exercise,
find it easier to resist food temptations,
and gain self-esteem…not BECAUSE of weight-loss,
but because we are choosing to manage our lives and our bodies
in a responsible way that is worthy of praise.
The Weight loss that follows is a side effect of our Behavior. 

                             
Nothing is going to work if it isn’t convenient,
enjoyable, and not too difficult, or if it lacks the ability
to be a smooth integration into one’s daily life.
Having information on hand that addresses problems
that are associated with correct eating and exercise,
without putting oneself through torture is valuable.

Once equipped with little, but effective, changes,
one needs to look toward effective maintainable weight loss,
which requires a healthy state of mind.

Keeping oneself motivated and inspired is difficult,
and sometimes it can be helpful to read or hear
just a few words of wisdom to help one keep going.
This is what I am hoping to accomplish by my daily writings
here at DietHobby, and my short “Words of Wisdom” videos.

Anyone can easily read past articles by going to the ARCHIVES.
Also, under RESOURCES, Videos, Words of Wisdom
you can find more than 100 videos of inspiration
that are all less than thirty seconds long. 

I am hoping that my son will write me a code that will make
this into a "playlist", but until he does that,
you can access such a Playlist by going to my DietHobby YouTube Channel
and clicking the first "Words of Wisdom" video there.
This feature makes all the videos in that playlist run automatically.

  To inspire myself, I frequently go to DietHobby at YouTube and click
the first Words of Wisdom video, then let the list run through while
I do other things in the room.  In that way, I hear the inspirational sayings
back to back in about a ten minute time frame.

I usually hear at least one saying there that helps me with  my day,
and this process...repeated over and over, day by day....
helps to firmly implant those positive thoughts and
positive affirmations into my mind. 

I find this personally helpful. 
Perhaps it will help you also.

Do exactly what you can do, no more and no less.
Do not judge yourself if you falter on this journey
because it is about progress, not perfection.
And most importantly, never judge yourself against others.

Each of us are unique individuals going on a very personal journey.
We can support, inspire, and motivate each other along the way,
but in the end this is a very personal experience.

So be kind to yourself.

  I am pleased to be able to report to you
that I am making progress with the recovery of my wrist and hand,
and yesterday I was able to make another new cooking video: Chocolate Milkshake
You can find it at DietHobby in the RECIPE section under Sweet Tastes,
although it could also be used as a Mini-Meal.

This video primarily addresses Kindness to others,
but Kindness to oneself is also important,
and is helpful in resolving body image problems.

Before my successful weight-loss I learned to have
compassion for the unwanted parts of myself,
and gained willingness to appreciate myself as lovable
even with my imperfections.

Research exists which shows that as body perception improves,
women are better able to self-regulate their eating, and lose weight.

Dr. Pedro Teixeira, from the Technical University of Lisbon,
who led such a research project, said:

“Body image problems are very common amongst overweight
and obese people, often leading to comfort eating and more
rigid eating patterns, and are obstacles to losing weight.

“Our results showed a strong correlation between improvements
in body image, especially in reducing anxiety about other peoples’ opinions,
and positive changes in eating behavior.

“From this we believe that learning to relate to your body in healthier ways
is an important aspect of maintaining weight loss and should be addressed
in every weight control program.”

At a future time, I plan to write more about this issue, including a few things we can do 
to improve our personal body image.

Sharing some excellent advice that was given 
in response to the following question by one
member of a forum that I frequently visit to another member.

 “I have been doing so bad with my eating the last month or so.
I haven't been this heavy for about two years now.
Why oh why am I doing this???
I just can't control my eating at all anymore. Tears.....”

"I have been where you're at.
In my case I rode it all the way up to having over 30 pounds to re-lose.
Here are things that I think contributed to my weight gain.
I say "I think" because there may be things I haven't considered or that aren't obvious.  

1. I believed websites that told me
how much I "should" be able to eat to maintain my weight.
I wanted to be able to eat that much.
But, I found that I gain--maybe slowly, but I do.

2. I didn't realize that I am sensitive to how much
and what kind of carbohydrate I eat, in that above a certain amount,
I slip into a state where I want to eat even more carbs
and I always feel "hungry."
Once I got my carbohydrate levels under control
(and I don't mean eliminated--
I mean a certain target amount of mostly complex carbs every day!)
I found that I am not as hungry and feel much better.

3. I tried to make what had worked in the past continue to work.
I had a plan, and I had lost weight on it, so it should WORK, right?
Well, I could no longer stay on that plan for the length of time
necessary to lose weight. I would lose 2 pounds in 2 weeks,
then gain 3 in the next week because I couldn't stay on plan.
I tried to use this same plan again, and again, and again, for over a year!
You'd think I'd get the idea!
So, I had to try something different.

4. I was in denial about these things.
I thought it was just a matter of having enough "will power."
So when I couldn't make things work the way I wanted, I felt like a failure.
To put it simply, I had to admit all of those discoveries above.

Maybe this will give some things to think about.
Don't be afraid to try something you might never have thought of doing--within reason…"

One thing I'm doing this week, in my efforts to lose the weight I gained at VidCon,
is to try a different food plan.  I don't think the plan itself is that effective or unusual,
but I'm doing it because it is a change from the way I normally eat
and sometimes I find a change can be helpful. 

 Good luck to me, and to all of you as we go about our day.