16th December 2010

If you sit with a beautiful girl, two hours seem like two minutes. If you sit on a hot stove, two minutes seem like two hours. That's relativity.

Weight Watchers sent out some great coupons to members who’d supplied their email on their registration cards yesterday so check your email, the one was reducing the Complete Bundle from £69.99 to £59.99, it includes, scales, pedometer, cookbook, deluxe pack, clicker and toffee bars – bargain!

I have to say I’m so impressed with my members this week, they’re all so positive, whether they’ve lost weight or not they’re sure they will continue to do so once Christmas is done. And of course getting members to gold is always the ultimate and we’ve had two already this week.

We’ve all heard of one-day at a time, but one-minute at a time? Come on, who needs that? Hum, maybe you do at this time of year!

In the past if you've struggled repeatedly, yet continued to fail in your efforts to lose weight, have you stopped to think why? Was your plan to stop, quit or cut down too restrictive? Did you say, "I'll never drink wine again," or "From now on I'm never eating ___ again," and then when you couldn't resist you felt like a total failure?

Any time you make an effort to change a habit or pattern of behavior, at first it seems it'll be so easy. Just say no. But then the cravings and urges keep hitting you, washing over you like waves on the shore, relentlessly, repeatedly, until you give in. "I can't do it. I don't have the will power. I'll never lose this weight."

These waves are an expected part of change; so don't try to fight them. Instead learn to surf them.

Learning to Surf the Waves

Get out your boogie board, and you'll be glad for those waves. Think differently about the situation. So you're riding a wave of desire, ah, there's the crest, now you're floating down the other side.

Once over it, you soon forget all about it, until here comes another wave. What do you do? You ride it too. Up, over, down the other side. Just ride it, and you'll go over another and another.

Habits hit hard, but each successive wave is a little less intense, a little shorter. By riding the waves you'll find you can learn to surf them, then even enjoy them as they lose their power over you.

Sit on your hands if you have to, but ride the craving out. It won't last. The toughest times are those first few days because that's when your desire to continue old habits is highest and your will to ride out the craving is at its lowest. Even though your desire to change may be very high, the will to withstand those waves is low simply because your "usual" pattern of behaviour used to be diving right in or letting the wave knock you completely over.

Stay Out of the Water

Post a "No Swimming" sign for the next wave. You can go swimming anytime but not this wave. Just this one wave. One minute at a time. If you have a habit of overeating, no matter what time of day, realize it's just a habit. No different than a habit of biting your nails, twirling your hair, or picking bits off your sweater. Habits are acquired, repetitive tasks. They usually help us feel better simply because their repetitive nature is soothing. Habits can be broken if you are willing to ride the waves. If you've tried the "I'll never eat ..." again approach and it didn't work, try the one-day at a time or one-minute at a time approach.

When the urge strikes, decide right then to ride this one out. Tell yourself, "I'm riding this wave," and then as Nike says, Just Do It. That means you decide in advance that you will wait, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 5 minutes; whatever time works for you. Decide how many minutes you will wait before you'll go ahead and do whatever you want to do. A few minutes gives you a chance for the wave to crest and you'll see how often it does just that.

Every single time you ride that wave and get to the other side it gets easier and easier. Now, it could be that it takes a hundred waves before it gets easier but it will. The day will come when you'll realise you used to have a problem with this food or that, or you used to eat an entire bag of crisps every night, but you no longer do. Now if you want a biscuit, you eat a biscuit but that crazy desire to eat them all is finished. The tide has turned.

Try it for the next day or two. When the urge strikes, say to yourself I’ll wait ten minutes and see if the urge subsides.

Have a terrific Thursday xx