Change the 'Tude

You know me. I'm always looking for new diet tips. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe people think that knowledge is power, and so the more you learn about dieting, fitness and healthy lifestyle choices, the better prepared you are to make a lifestyle change yourself.

These tips come from a dietian on Weight Loss Resources. They're mostly about attitude and perception, which I think is the root of all diets. Before you can even start off on a weight-loss challenge, your mind as to be in the right place and you've got to have the mindset. Otherwise you may find yourself facing more failures than successes.

2. Have clear motivations. Write down your reasons for wanting to lose weight. Having clearly identified reasons helps your feeling of commitment. Try to include reasons that aren’t just about appearance, for example, ‘will help me feel fit enough to do more of the things of I want to do’ or ‘will help my back pain’. Looking back on them can also be a very useful motivator if the going gets tough.

I won't lie. In the past I haven't always had clear motivations. It was typically things like, "Look hot in my prom dress." That's obviously not going to be an effective way to really make a valiant effort to get in shape. Now I'm focusing on my overall health. What can I do today to help me have a healthier tomorrow? More and more I notice the strong correlation between my weight, fitness level, eating habits and my mood. For the first time, I feel like I have a good motivation in place.

12. Beware ‘all or nothing’ thinking’. You know that feeling when you really overdo the chocolate or a night out and think you’ve blown it so may as well give up – and keep on eating… The blow out isn’t a problem, but your reaction could be. Lapses are a normal part of change. You can’t be, nor need to be perfect 100% of the time to lose weight. Doing well 80-90% of the time is great progress. Rather than feel you have failed and give up, look at what you can learn from a bad day or week and plan to do things differently in the future. Then forgive, talk positively to yourself about what you have achieved already, and get back on track.

I'm a HUGE victim of this. I always fall into this trap. The second I blow my diet, it's like it's all out the window. I feel like I blew my entire lifestyle change. I need to have a much more positive outlook and be able to accept the bad right along with the good.

30. Believe in Yourself. If things go wrong don’t panic. Learning new habits takes time. Think back to when you learned to ride a bike. No-one expected you to do it the first time. You no doubt fell off a lot and needed picking up, with help along the way. Step by step you took control of that bike and learned how to keep it on course. How you think affects how you feel, and in turn the actions you take. Believe in yourself every day. Focus on what you want – being fitter, healthier – rather than how unfit you are. Setting realistic goals and having positive expectations will make all the difference.

A close friend of mine always tells me that I need to think positive. "You WILL lose weight, Liz. You just have believe in it and follow through." Perhaps a major downfall when I embark on a lifestyle change is that I'm unfortunately more pessimistic than I am optimistic. But hopefully through these tips, and support from friends, I'll be able to do it right this time.