Failure is not the end

Hello Everyone,

Failing at something is not the end...it is a learning step.  Yesterday I went to the park with my seven year old son so he could learn to ride his bicycle without training wheels.  He was doing really good.  Then...he crashed.  You all know what happened...scraped hands, scraped knee and bleeding elbow.  He was so close to getting it.  Needless to say, he was done for the day.  He will be back on the bicycle eventually when he is not upset any longer and will learn to ride his bike.

It seems that everyone beats themselves up when they can't stick to their diet or workout plan.  This is a message for everyone.  People that can stick to their plans and not mess up have been doing it for a while and have had plenty of practice.  For people just starting out, you need to be able to forgive yourselves.  You just have to dust yourself off and get right back to it.

To succeed, your lifestyle will eventually have to change.  Not all at once...that would be a shock to your body.  If you drink, smoke, and all you eat are fried foods with soft drinks, that would be too much to change at once.  The key will be to change one small thing at a time.  A good example would be to give up soda on a daily basis.  Yes, have a glass of soda with your pizza.  Who can have pizza without soda?  Again, this is a glass not a pitcher or 2 liter bottle by yourself.  Also, this is once in a while not all the time.  After a week or two, keep at it and start to change something else.  Eventually, your bad habits (which are sabotaging your weight loss goals) will be gone and you'll have good habits that replaced them.

The best way to have a good eating plan and be able to have goodies is by planning for it.  Plan your meals a week out.  Perhaps on Sunday, you can decide what you want to eat through the week.  If you know you have a party to attend later in the week, account for the cake and ice cream at the party as you plan your meals.  A good example of this is July 4th with is coming up in a week and a half.  If you know you are going to go out and celebrate, plan accordingly.  Plan for that hot dog or burger.  Plan for the macaroni salad, potato salad, and chips.  If you have cake, pies, and/or ice cream - plan for it.

I'm not a fan of restrictive diets.  Life is full of color and flavors to not try or have some awesome dishes that taste amazing but are not exactly healthy for you.  Sometimes, they go hand in hand.  At others, they are not.  A good example of this is fish.  I like to eat grilled or poached trout.  It tastes good and it's good for you.  I also like fried catfish.  Grew up eating it.  It tastes good, but not exactly healthy for you.  I probably have it once or twice a year if that.  Life is too short to have bland, tasteless food.  How can you live if you are dreading your next meal.  Spices are one way to add flavor to your meals. Try a little of this and a little of that.  See what you like.

Let me know if you have any questions.