Читать книгу The 3 Apple a Day GI Diet: The Amazing Superfood for Fast-track Weight Loss - Tammi Flynn - Страница 13

If your eating habits have been less than healthy, you have the power to make the change! Every step you take to improve your health will get you closer to adding life into your years. The foods you choose, along with your activity level, will determine whether you become fat or not. The most notable causes of being overfat or obese are lack of proper diet and lack of physical activity. Thank goodness these are things you can change. If you can visualize it, you can become it!

Being an obese, out-of-control Type 2 diabetic, I talked with my doctor, who said he could no longer help me, I had to help myself. Then I heard the words “train like an athlete”. So I started practising being an athlete—started a food and exercise journal, joined the gym, bought athletic clothes so I could look like an athlete, and after work and days off I would change into my athletic clothes to feel like an athlete. So who cares if I looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy^®? In my mind I was an athlete.

—Donald Housden, age 55, lost 33 pounds,

and is now an athlete

Getting and staying motivated

How do you get motivated and stay motivated? Motivation comes from within. Webster’s Dictionary defines “motivation” as “a mental force to induce an act or purpose”. “Inspiration” is any influence that inspires thought or action. What inspires you?

I have found that my clients are inspired by money, family, and other people’s successes. In the beginning, you may be motivated to win (through a bet) or to look like someone else (if they can do it, so can I), or you may believe that if you can make a change it will help inspire your family to change. But what will really keep you progressing towards your goal is how good you’ll feel as the changes add up.

Some people are naturally self-motivated and others need a little extra help from outside influences. Here are a few ideas that may inspire you to get started:

• Try a walkathon.

• Train for a marathon.

• Shape up for your class reunion.

• Work out with your significant other.

• Decide to improve your family’s eating habits.

• Aim to fit into your smallest clothes size.

• Read the success stories in Part V.

TIP: Find something or someone that inspires you. Health clubs can be inspirational because you’re surrounded by people with a common interest—getting healthy!

Are timelines a good thing?

Does focusing on a short period of time, such as 12 weeks instead of a lifetime, prove unsuccessful for permanent fat loss? It all depends on whether you are enjoying the experience of getting fit or struggling throughout the entire process. You may be highly motivated when you first start a new diet or exercise program, but maybe your motivation dissipates over time if you cannot see or feel results.

Most people who start the 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet adjust over the first few weeks and are excited by how good they feel. For some, it’s more difficult, especially if they’ve never exercised or been aware of their eating habits. On the other hand, if they finish the 12 weeks, they are thrilled with their progress. And more important, most of them maintain their results.

Twelve weeks will pass by anyway, so why not do something during that time that will make a difference in how you look and feel? Think of 12 weeks as just the beginning of a lifetime of healthy behaviours.

TIP: Set small, realistic, short-term goals that will lead you to your major goal. If you bite off more than you can chew, it can be overwhelming!