You do not go to a gym to lose weight!!!! You go to a gym to get fit, specifically, cardio-pulmonary fitness. Sure, you may tone up your muscles as well, but weight loss is achieved by changing your lifestyle. I proved this years ago when I lost 30 pounds without going to the gym once. My sister has recently lost 100 pounds and never set foot in a gym.

YOUR LIFESTYLE NEEDS TO CHANGE

If what you were doing currently was healthy or in balance, you would not be struggling with excess weight. Therefore, some things that you are believing, thinking, and doing have to be examined for you to discover where change is required.

All relevant change must FIRST begin on the inside, before it bears fruit on the outside. Willpower is great, but only gets us so far because it addresses the external with little or no impact on the internal. We ACT because we are feeling something inside. That internal feeling comes from a deeply held belief, which is often reinforced by our problematic patterns of thinking.

1. Change your beliefs (align them with truth and love)
2. Change your patterns of thinking (make sure your thinking patterns are grounded in reality and truth)

OBVIOUS CHANGE TAKES TIME

Another problem for many people who struggle with weight issues is motivation and perseverance. The best way to stay motivated is to start getting tangible success. The success is not only a shift in your weight, it may also be in inches or in the fact that you are being consistent with the quantity or quality of foods eaten.

I will say it again, we all know what to do to lose weight. With exceedingly rare exceptions, when we stick to a healthy way of eating that is balanced, we will lose weight. The problem is that after many people lose the weight, they forget what got them there or the changes they made to get the weight loss are not sustainable.

EXAMINE YOUR STORY HONESTLY

We live in a world that revolves around food. We celebrate, we eat; someone dies, we eat; we have pain, we soothe it with food; or we are feeling lonely, and we put some food into our body. The literature varies on how long it takes to change a habit or create a new habit. I believe there comes a point for most people when the pain of carrying excess weight is too much and they will do whatever it takes to lose the weight. However, once there is no pain to lose weight, what keeps you from defaulting back to the old and unhealthy habits?

Believe it or not it goes back to our beliefs and patterns of thinking. Then we add in our M.A.P. and G.P.S. Here is the sad truth, UNTIL you truly do the work to uncover your limiting beliefs, toxic thought patterns, and gain emotional sobriety, all change will be transient.

LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF

Know that you have the power to change. Also, understand that you are 100% responsible for your choices. When you come face to face with this reality – then you will ask yourself this question: “Why am I choosing _____________ (fill in the blank with whatever you are continuing to choose to believe, think, or do)?” Another question you may want to ask is: “What am I gaining and by default losing, when I choose to continue believing, thinking, and acting this way?” Remember, we all have NEEDS, which must be met appropriately.