Perseverance!

The Weight Loss Word of the Day is PERSEVERANCE! It's easy to start a diet, easy to say you're going to make a life change, easy to follow the latest fad diet, but starting the diet isn't the trouble for most people. It's continuing on. It's having the determination to follow through to the slim end. How do we gain that determination? Here are five suggestions that I've found helpful:

1. Every day tell yourself these statements: "I deserve to be healthy. I deserve to be comfortable in my own skin. God made me so I have worth. My body is the temple my soul inhabits. I will not let food control me. With God's help, I will overcome." Phrase them as you like, but that's the idea. If you say these positive statements ten times a day, you'll be amazed how it will change your attitude.

2. Avoid people who tempt you with fattening foods. Friends who push desserts on you aren't your friends. They're trying to sabotage your new life. Don't let them. Be firm.

3. Pick yourself back up after every slip and keep going. A life change only fails if you stop. Let's not confuse this with diets. There are a thousand diets out there. If one isn't healthy for you or simply isn't workable, find another that will work. As long as you continue to pursue your goal, you will reach it eventually.

4. Remember that you didn't gain weight all at once, and you won't lose it all at once. It's going to take time, but everything worthwhile takes time. Love, relationships, happiness, they all take time and work. Why would this be different?

5. Most importantly, remember that you have only one life down here. It's up to you to make the most of it. Approach losing weight as an adventure with ups and downs, but you have the certainty that you'd going to make it through and come back with lots of great stories and a new healthier you!