Hi All,

I took about a week or two off of work to spend time at home with my family, and get caught up on all those tasks that I didn’t take care of during the summer.

It was great to get my hands dirty.

I was going to put up some shelving in the garage, so we could get some items off of the floor and away from possible pests which may find their way into the garage (there are a lot of fields and such where we live).  So I got to work.

I had some older brackets and screws — albeit not the correct ones.

I couldn’t find my drill, so I figured a screw driver of the approx. size would work.

Didn’t have the right size of brackets, but I’d make what I have work correctly.

Can you guess what happened?  Nothing.  Nothing worked.  Using a screw drive to make some holes in the wall resulted in walls with holes in them.  The shelf wasn’t stable because the brackets were not the right size.

Regardless of what you’re trying to do — put up shelves, change the oil in the car, or LOSE WEIGHT - you need the right tools for the job.

I quickly learned that I can’t put up a shelf that I expect to be sturdy if I don’t use the right tools for the job.

Losing weight is identical.  How can you lose weight, or gain the motivation to lose weight if you set yourself up to fail before you even start?!

Let me explain, using my own story.

When I was determined to lose weight, I prepared myself:

  1. Mentally.  I decided that this was something I was going to do.  It was in my heart and soul.  I believed in it fully and I was determined to make it work.  This wasn’t a thought process that I decided in 5 minutes or as a New Years resolution.  I was determined to lose the weight.
  2. Action Plan.  Once I was prepared mentally, I went to work on my action plan.  What would I do to lose weight?  Exercise?  Diet?  Of course, I had to do both — but I wanted to plan.  You must know that “those without a plan, plan to fail” — right?
  3. Right tools.  I spent a little money to get the tools that I needed.  I invested in a good recipie book that had foods that I’d eat.  I also spent a lot of time on the Internet gathering recipies and other health related information, such as types of exercises, food plans, exercise plans.  I bought a journal, nothing fancy.  The journal was to record my day — my feelings, what I ate, how much I exercised.  I could look at this on a daily basis to see what I’d done right — and MORE importantly what I did WRONG.  Then I could modify my behaviors so that the next day, I avoid the WRONGS and stuck to the RIGHTS.  I also bought a PEDOMETER.  This really, really helped me walk 10,000 steps per day.
  4. Goals.  I set realistic goals.  Do you know what SMART goals are?  They are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Sensitive:

    SPECIFIC - I wish to lose 8 - 10 lbs per month, and over the course of the year I want to up to 100lbs.
    MEASURABLE - I will weight my self on a weekly basis to ensure I am on track.  Also at the end of the year I will be able to measure the amount of weight lost.
    ATTAINABLE - It is easy to lose 1-2lbs per week; or 8-10lbs per month.  It’s HARD to lose 100lbs < I hope you recognize this statement, as I'm sure we've ALL made it at one time or another.
    REALISTIC - Is your weight loss goal realistic?  IF your goal is “LOSE 100 lbs in 3 months” - that’s not very realistic.  But loosing 8-10lbs per month is realistic, AND attainable!
    TIME SENSITIVE - have you put a time limit to your goal?  It is FAR better to set-up several SHORT TERM goals, than one L-O-N-G goal especially when it comes to weight loss.  As you knock off the shorter goals, you will be more inclined to stick to it as you’re seeing your successes regularly. 

These are a few of the things that I did so that I would succeed with my weight loss goals.

What have you tried?

Here is to your health,

Regards,

Mohamed

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