I want to challenge your (acknowledged or unacknowledged) belief that you can't succeed at weight loss. Think about it. What have you done in your life so far that required long-term, sustained effort that didn't necessarily yield immediate results or rewards? School? Marriage? Child rearing? Learning to drive, crochet, play bridge, speak another language, put your eyeliner on straight? Did you housebreak a puppy, teach a Sunday school class, grow a garden, keep an African violet alive? Make a list. After each accomplishment, write down how long you worked at it, or how long you've been working at it, and rate your current results on a scale of 0 to 5, where 0 equals complete failure and 5 equals competence or success. Here's an example from my own list:
project - time spent - score - results:
graduated from high school at age 16 - 11 yrs - 5 - done (just barely)
learned to drive a car (automatic) - 3 months - 5 - done (and only 13 speeding tickets)
learned to drive a car (standard) - 6 months - 5 - done (and didn't ruin a single clutch)
graduated from college - 4 years - 5 - Magna Cum Laude
marriage #1 - 6 years - 1 - divorced
marriage #2 - 24 years - 5 - better than ever
went back to school for a business degree - 2 yrs - 3 - 24 credits but no degree
learned to speak & write French - 6 years - 4 - no longer fluent (c'est une dommage!)
learned to speak Mandarin Chinese - 2 years - 1 - I can say beer, friend, and hello
put on eyeliner straight - 43 years - 4 - not great, but getting better
learn to play mah jongg - 20 minutes - 0 - didn't get it and quit
learned to cook - 40 years - 5 - better than ever
learned to use our new vacuum cleaner - 3 minutes - 0 - haven't tried very hard
lost 90 pounds thanks to my band and 3 years work - 5 - and still working at it!
Does that give you enough of an idea?
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