I’m hungry. Sure I had scrambled eggs, an English muffin and a tea, but that was hours ago. The problem is that having had that I have already reached more than ½ of my daily allotment on my new weight-loss program. And that makes me wonder. Am I going to be able to go the long-haul with this plan and actually lose weight?
If I can maintain it, I absolutely believe I can lose. But that’s a big IF. The problem as I see it is two-fold: firstly, feeling hungry each and every day (not the entire day mind you, but for several intermittent hours) and secondly the way it affects my attitude. If I’m only going to follow this plan long enough to lose and then go right back to my wicked ways of eating chocolate and nachos for dinner, then there’s really no point. I might as well save myself the time and money and go hit the junk food aisle straightaway. Yep, those are the thoughts that creep into my mind every hungry moment.
That’s why this time I’m desperately trying to keep two things in mind. One is that I will have formed a new, better habit in twenty-one days (so the experts say). That could make it a whole lot easier to move forward. At least that is my solemn wish. The second thing I’m focusing on is the fact that this is the ‘weight-loss’ phase. Once I meet my goal (when and if that happens), I will transition into the ‘maintenance’ phase, which will allot me more calories per day. By then I should be in the habit of eating less and finding healthier options, so it should feel more natural and less restrictive—at least that’s my hope.
The bottom line is that change is never easy and forming new, better habits—be it to lose weight, stop smoking, save money—takes time and effort. I need to REALLY want this. And I do. I do. I am committed to getting healthier and losing some weight. And I need to focus on the bigger picture instead of instant gratification, because that’s over—in an instant.