by Frederic Patenaude
I have a confession to make. I'm not
perfect. Sometimes, I fall off the wagon
with my diet and fitness activities.
Sometimes I eat more fat than I would
like too. Sometimes I eat foods that
don't make me feel great. Sometimes
I end up being sedentary for a little
while.
Let's face it. It's rare that you'll
find someone who will commit 100% to
something and never look back or have
a breakdown. But your ability to succeed
will be measured by your determination
and focus, as well as your ability to
learn from your “mistakes”.
So here are 7 things you can do *today*
to get back on track with your diet.
1- Don't Be Hard on Yourself
We're really fast at acknowledging our
shortcomings, but much less at acknowledging
our successes. It's very easy to beat
yourself up when you fall off the wagon
and never take time to celebrate all
the successes you've had so far.
So don't be hard on yourself and just
look at what you've accomplished, no
matter how small it may look! Compared
to where a lot of people are at right
now, you've already come a long way.
2- Reset Your System and Fast
In my book “The
Raw Secrets”, I talked about
the value of occasionally fasting 24
to 36 hours, or even 2-3 days (longer
fasts should be supervised).
This is especially useful to get back
on track with your diet. Fasting just
24 to 36 hours will literally “reset”
your system and make it much easier
to start eating right again.
Don't get me wrong. I don't suggest
doing the harmful pattern of binging
now and fasting later. I'm just saying
that a short fast might be just what
you need to give your body a chance
to get back to a state of balance.
You can refer to my book “The
Raw Secrets” for more information.
If you're unsure about doing a short
fast or your health does not permit
it, then simply having a couple days
of mono-fruit meals (only eating one
type of fruit per meal), will give you
great results.
3- List Your Benefits
When you have the time, take a moment
to list all of the reasons *why* you
are committed to a healthy lifestyle.
Why do it at all?
Unless you know the *why*, you won't
know the *how*. Any small difficulty
will throw you off balance.
So your homework assignment is to list
at least 25 benefits or reasons for
eating well (however you define it at
this point) and exercising. Then put
this list in a place where you can see
it!
4- Recommit
Commitment is very important. It just
means that you're willing to do whatever
it takes to get to where you want to
go.
After you've listed your benefits, take
a moment to commit to your success.
All it takes is *share* your list with
someone else, someone who can support
you (ideally, your “success buddy”!)
and tell them you commit to achieving
those results.
5- Give Yourself a Goal
In addition to writing your list of
benefits, give yourself one to three
short-term goals that you believe you
can accomplish within the next 6 to
12 months.
Maybe it is to *release* a certain amount
of weight. Maybe it is to lower your
body fat level down to a certain percentage.
Or maybe it is to succeed doing so many
push-ups in a row.
Set a few realistic goals that are also
a little challenging, and keep your
mind focused on them.
6- Be Prepared for the Next Breakdown
No matter how well you do in life, there
*will* be another breakdown. I'm not
saying that you'll necessarily fall
off the wagon. Maybe it will just be
a period of doubt and fear. Or you'll
find yourself in a situation where you're
not sure how to maintain your diet.
Prepare for success and envision different
things that could potentially be challenging.
What would you do in those moments?
Take a moment to think about that and
discuss it with your coach or someone
who supports you.
7- Get Coaching and Support
Even the best athletes in the world
have their own coaches. How do you think
that you will make it without one?
A good coach will not only push you
to get beyond where you want to go,
but will also support you in the process
and celebrate your successes with you.
Without coaching and support, it will
be much more difficult to make your
list of benefits come true.
If you can afford it, having a personal
health coach will make a tremendous
difference for you.
So, now that you're armed with these
7 tips I have revealed in this article,
start using them, and if possible, have
a coach help you in the process.
Once you start applying them, you will
understand why they make all the difference!
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