Maria's Last Diet

by Maria's Last Diet

Do you think that the strength of your intention to lose the weight is enough to do it?

Do you think it's better to combine your strong intention with an equally strong belief that you can do what it takes?

Lots of women who are trying to lose the weight "intend to" and also "believe they can".  Alas! This combination has not proved effective.

If you are this highly motivated to achieve weight-loss success, then you can get there by adding yet one more ingredient to your weight-loss recipe.

You can make a mental list of "critical moments", moments when it would be most opportune for you to work some weight-loss magic.

Take these moments and make the magic happen by asking, "When this occurs, what shall I do?" "When that occurs, what shall I do?" This kind of mental preparation gives you the perceptual readiness to identify the critical moments when they're upon you. And, you are also ready with the exact right activity to carry you successfully through the moment.

This is weight-loss magic like there never was. The magic comes from being prepared. Being prepared comes from having plans that match situations which are likely to arise. 

by Maria's Last Diet

Think carefully before you make a decision.

Sounds right.

But there are situations where conscious, deliberate decision-making falls short. The conscious decisions you make when dieting and trying to lose the weight may fall into this category.

Here’s how. “I have decided to stay on my weight-loss diet plan by being more careful about what I eat.” How many times have you heard this? The intention is there. Maybe even the effort is there. But yet the dieter fails. Why is this?

A conscious, deliberate decision in this case probably doesn’t do justice to all that is affecting this person’s ability to keep to her weight-loss diet plan. In fact, almost by it’s very nature the conscious, deliberate decision gives the dieter a false feeling of having done the problem justice.

Try this instead. See what you need weight-loss help with. Make sure it’s important to you. Then take some time off mentally from this problem. Don’t look for a solution. Let your mind go on to other matters. Enjoy your day, and see what happens when you return to your weight-loss problem at some other time.

You might be surprised to find that, “without thinking”, at least consciously, you’ve come up with a great analysis of your problem that leads directly to a viable solution.

Psychological research on the benefits of thinking unconsciously supports this method.

by Maria's Last Diet

I wish I could lose the weight.

What will you need--to get what you wish for?

First of all, is what you’d like to accomplish highly attractive to you? Then, too, is it feasible?

Both of these conditions, highly desirable and eminently feasible, supply some of what you’ll need to get through the weight-loss challenges and get your wish.

But you will also need the boost that comes from thinking out and realizing the positives you’ll get from your wish versus thinking out and realizing the negatives you are getting from where you currently are. This realization must have a serious effect on you for it to combine with "highly attractive" and "eminently feasible" to make your wish come true.

by Maria's Last Diet

How many times have you heard that commitment is critical to the goal of changing your eating habits?

A good starting point is to evaluate the strength of your commitment. How strong is it now? Will it last? Is it resilient enough to take you through the ups and downs of weight loss? These are some of the measures you could take of your commitment strength

Let’s try a couple of commitment statements.

I am determined to stick to healthy dieting and lose the weight.

This time there is absolutely no question about me changing the way I’ve been eating.

Both statements sound like solid commitments.

Let’s find out how you can tell if what you say is what you will do.

Probably the best way to see if you really mean it is to see what the outcome is. But that doesn’t help you assess your commitment beforehand. It doesn’t give you the chance to do something before you don’t follow through on your commitment—and fail. That’s not good.

Here’s an idea. Why not go over the reasons for quitting vs. the reasons against quitting. Make sure you give those reasons against quitting their due. Don’t only emphasize the pros. Then take a look at some other dimensions of commitment as well: your desire, your need, your readiness, and believing that you can do it. Once again, don’t only emphasize the positives. Pay attention to the negatives. For example, I see that I lose my desire when I… (can’t get it right away; don’t have the right support).

Taking the measure of your commitment will not only let you know where you stand “commitmentwise”. It will also let you know what more you might have to do to shape up your commitment so that it’s at the strength you need it to be.

by Maria's Last Diet

Can we interest you in a dream?

Is your dream to be a size 2?

May we be so in your face as to say that’s the wrong dream?

Let’s talk about your dream as your goal. It’s the same thing, right? It’s what you want, where you wish to be. Well, the truth is, when you’re reaching for a dream/goal, the best way to think about it is in terms of learning. When people set a goal as learning how to do something, rather than setting a static goal like “I want to be a size 2”, they are much more likely to realize a dream/goal.

Here’s a way to put it that will help you get there successfully.

The dream/goal might be this: “I am going to learn how to kick the habit of eating to cope with stress by finding better ways to cope.

Right away, this dream is more reasonable, more attainable, and more to the point.

Of course, you want to be thinner. That will be a perk of your learning experience.

This is just one dream, and you may have something different that you yourself need to learn how to do. Think about what that is, and then set your dream at learning how to do that.

Here’s another good weight-related dream/goal: “I will learn how to eat more moderately, whatever it takes”. Now there’s a dream you can make come true. And you’ll go down in size as well, no problem.

by Maria's Last Diet

So, what actually makes a woman a success at losing weight? Is it a simple matter of basic ability--some have it, some don’t? What is it that determines who will succeed and who will fail?

Is it self-esteem? Is a woman who believes in her ability to lose the weight more likely to do it than a woman who has a poor opinion of her ability to do it? What makes a woman a successful dieter?

Is it motivation that is the crucial factor-the desire to do well, to achieve, to succeed?

Research has shown that the single most important factor that affects success or failure in any endeavor is the ability to cope with challenges and setbacks. People who are not afraid to take risks and who rise to the occasion when they meet up with obstacles are the ones who succeed, sometimes far beyond what they originally thought they could do. People who get stopped by challenges, or do all they can to avoid risks, are the ones who are most likely to fail.

Taking all of this into account, it seems clear that preparing strategies for coping with obstacles, challenges, and setbacks is essential.  If losing weight is truly important to you, you must create ways to cope with these inevitable situations. It is the same across the board, with anything worth achieving. There’s no success without developing the ability to negotiate the bumps in the road. There is nothing worth achieving that follows only a smooth, straight road to the goal.

by Maria's Last Diet

Is your road to losing weight paved with good intentions?

Most people, despite their good intentions, fail to get to their goal. Of course, weight loss is a prime example of this.

You get yourself thinking about losing weight, maybe even start dieting, maybe lose the weight for a while--but you don't stick to your weight-loss diet and you begin to gain back the weight you've lost.

The road to weight loss is paved with more good intentions than it can handle. It's overloaded with intentions and it is overloaded with failure to act on these good intentions. 

It is not enough to "intend to". To make what you intend actually happen, you have to think of how you can really make happen what you intend. This means making plans, plans that detail what you'll do, when you'll do it, and how you'll get yourself to do it.

For more on goals and what you intend, and on making effective plans to achieve what you intend, you can go to Find Your Issue (to the right of this post) and look them up.