Do we all want to be lean and buff? Strong and sexy? Make heads turn? Of course we do. (Come on, don’t try and tell me you don’t).

Really, for all the people that desperately want to lose weight, why is it that most of them don’t?

This morning I read a great online post that got me thinking about motivation (or maybe the lack of it). It actually had nothing to do with health and fitness, but the topic was “productivity” and “getting unstuck”. The author wrote “if we really just cared about what we were doing and had a worthy goal to work towards, of course we would get all of our work done.” Hmmm….

Care? Of course most people do care that they’re overweight, but is that they don’t care enough to do something about it? Or is it that they care too much about other things (like donuts) to really care about what’s going on with their bodies.

How about a worthy goal? How big does your goal have to be to give you that swift kick in the butt you may need?

Here are just a few answers I came up with…

Do you care about the extra weight you are carrying around?

Ok, no brainer. If you’re reading this newsletter, chances are you care at least a little bit about getting the extra weight off (unless you are my husband and you know I’m going to quiz you later on whether or not you read the newsletter).

Or maybe you really care about the “not so good” news your doctor dished out to you on your last visit. Of course, many of us care…but do we care enough? Why is it that we think our jobs, social lives and watching TV are more important than doing something about our high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity?

If you’ve ever told anyone, “I work long hours, I just can’t worry about what I eat.” Or “I go out a lot. It’s too hard to eat healthy while at a restaurant.” Or, have chosen to watch TV instead of doing your exercise for the day, then YES you are guilty of caring more about those things than your health.

Isabel, why are you being so mean? Well, haven’t you ever heard that the people that love you the most will be the ones that will give it to you straight? Yup, that’s me. I want everyone to wake up each day and feel great. Not just great….super awesome! I don’t want to hear about so many deaths due to heart attacks and diabetes anymore. That is why I do what I do every day. Because I want YOU (yeah, YOU) to finally feel the way your body was intended to feel…absolutely incredible!

What is your worthy goal?

My goals have changed significantly as the years have gone by. Here are a few examples of some things that were important enough to me to finally do something about my weight and my health:

19 years old – I wanted to date good looking and in shape guys (we’re being honest here right?). However, when you have acne all over your face and you can barely squeeze into your clothes, this may not become a reality. I cared enough about meeting Mr. Right that it really drove me to stick to my healthy eating and exercise plan.

22 years old – I started my career as a nutritionist and personal trainer, but I still didn’t look the part as best I could. I wanted to be a positive influence on my clients, not only by my words, but by how I looked. Would you listen to a nutritionist that looked unhealthy? I wouldn’t!

26 years old – My mom’s health became so bad that she was put on dialysis treatments. I didn’t want this grim reality to become me some day. I wanted something different for myself and my future family. This truly changed my perspective and outlook on health and nutrition forever (for the better, of course)

31 years old – Pregnant with my first child. Since my first goal worked so well and I did marry Mr. Right, I am now awaiting my first kid’s birth. Knowing that what I put in my mouth affects how my baby’s organs, brain and little cells grow is enough reason for me to keep it healthy.

What is your worthy goal? What would make you feel so motivated, so driven, so passionate about finally taking the necessary steps to make losing weight a reality for you? Finding Mr. or Mrs. Right? Being a positive influence to your family? Changing your family’s “bad” genetics”?

Here is your chance to tell me and the whole world. Post your worthy goal on my blog and maybe your goal will be the inspiration someone else needs. Or better yet, maybe you will find your inspiring, worthy goal by the influence of someone else.

Who loves you enough to give you that kick in the butt? I do, of course.

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com

  

It never ceases to amaze me that the people in our lives we think would be the most supportive of our health and fitness goals sometimes are the ones that sabotage us the most.

You know who I’m talking about. Those family members and friends that tell you:

“Oh, just have one piece.”

“Oh come on, you only live once.”

“Are you really not going to eat any of this?”

We all have these “bad food” villains in our lives and if losing weight wasn’t hard enough, this does not make the situation any easier. (I know you can agree with me on that one.)
Trust me, I’ve heard it all. In all the years that I have been eating healthy, I don’t care to repeat some of the ridiculous statements that have been said to me by my family and friends (Love you guys).

Here are some ways you can deal with these “bad food” villains, I mean loving family and friends while still maintaining your cool and achieving all of your health goals.

1.) Remember most of the people who are trying to sabotage your new healthy eating plan are just jealous or upset that they do not have enough determination, will power and commitment to do it themselves. Please be compassionate. If we want people to be compassionate with us, we must show compassion towards them (yup, now we’re back in kindergarten). Respond to them with statements that only describe you, not them. You do not want to offend anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings (or at least I hope you don’t). Try statements like:

“I really feel great eating this way. It’s made such a difference in my life already.”

Or

“I know I am doing something great for my health and I feel awesome about it.”

Or

“I really want to be a good role model for my family and my children. I want to show them all healthy habits.”

Who can say anything negative to that? (I know, I’m sure you’ve got at least one person). What you have done however, is not attacked them at all and you have kept it positive. No sense in resorting to childish antics like “Nani Nani Poopoo, I’m healthy and you’re not.” Come on, nobody wants to hear that.

2.) Next are those situations where you are in someone’s home and you do not want to offend them. If this is a dinner party, just do the best you can. I promise you, you will not be sabotaging all of your good efforts by eating one meal that is not part of your plan. It might actually be a good break from your routine. Here’s where most people go wrong. They think if they had one bad thing now need to throw in the towel all together. One meal is NOT enough reason to give up on your health goals. Make your grandma happy by eating her lasagna (or whatever the meal may be) and don’t go overboard. One piece is enough and you have not offended anyone. Wake up the next day and move forward with your healthy food, like nothing ever happened (Lasagna? What Lasagna? I didn’t see any Lasagna.) Don’t torture yourself, or reflect on the meal. Telling yourself you have failed and then harping about it is actually worse than eating the bad food. No more beating yourself up!

3.) If you find that there are just some people who are super negative about what you are doing no matter what you try, don’t talk to them about your eating. I would love to tell you to avoid these people, but sometimes they are people who are the closest to us. Show them the wonderful side effects of healthy eating just by your actions alone. Your results will speak for themselves. I gave up on trying to convince certain people of the true benefits of healthy nutrition a long time ago. It was just too exhausting and I’m pretty sure they are now well aware of all the wonderful benefits just by my own results and actions.

Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do anything, especially reach the health and weight goals that you want. Show them what you’ve got by your amazing results and that will be enough to keep most people from trying to knock you down.

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
http://www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com