Seriously, pick one thing. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to be healthier? How about feeling better?
Pick. One. Thing.
Break that one goal down into steps and focus on those individual steps — and if those steps are too big then break it down even farther. If you want to lose weight and keep it off then it’s a lifestyle change not something you do for 30 days and stop.
When your focus is broad so is your concentration. Focus on that one change for however long it takes you to establish that as a habit. Say you want to lose weight, then 80% of weight loss is diet, 20% is exercise. However, if you are just dieting to lose weight then the probability of regaining the weight you lost will increase – thus the yo-yo dieting side-effect. So, approach weight loss as a lifestyle change and pick one thing.
One thing that helps is water intake. That is just one thing. Drinking more water is easy to focus on; versus focusing on what you can and can’t eat, changing to a new daily schedule in to include exercise, and tracking everything. If water is hard, then look at what you do drink and pick one meal to replace that with water, until it’s second nature, then focus on 2 meals.
(Here’s a good article on how long it takes to establish a new habit or break an old one.)
Yes, this is a slow process. But “all good things come to those who wait”. My mom would always say that to teach me patience as a kid.
The benefits of drinking more water is more energy, it helps to flush your system, lubricates your joints, and protects sensitive tissues, and it makes you feel more full (so you eat less). Try to remember to drink a glass of water before each meal – if you can’t that’s ok. Focus on just one thing at a time – become used to and comfortable doing that one thing – make it a habit, then move on to work on the next mini-goal. Keep building from there one mini-goal at a time, one step at a time.
Pick one thing. Write it down and what you need to do to accomplish it. If after a week you find it too hard then step back and break it down farther. It’s hard to eat a whole pie in one bite – but one bite at a time it is possible – although highly not recommended eating a whole pie in one sitting (please don’t do that!!) (That’s another lesson: just because you can does not mean you should.)
Slow and steady wins the race and long term success. One step at a time for lasting change.
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