How do I lose weight AND keep it off? Part I

Goals and Expectations

Properly managing your expectations with realistic short and long-term goal setting is one of the important keys to your success. Many times, we set goals for ourselves that are too aggressive. Although we are convinced that this effort will be different, the road we choose is usually too difficult to maintain. This generally leads to the viscous cycle of start and stops dieting and exercise fads. Setting short-term goals is especially important because long-terms goals do not allow us to celebrate achievement along the way, thus leaving us feeling discouraged. This book is based on the long-term principle “because you can do it and keep doing it, makes it the right plan for you.”

You will come to realize that getting to your goals is not as difficult (or as easy) as popular marketing tells you. There is no magic, but it does take planning and consistency. It is not necessary to be so restrictive and hard on you both physically and mentally but it is necessary to have to expect more from yourself.

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EVERYTHING works and then it stops working. The workout that allowed us to lose 10 lbs., the bottle of pills that temporarily shed a few more, the restrictive diet that ended up being excessively hard to follow; all of these methods are a short-term fix to a long-term goal.

The first lesson is CONSISTENCY.

Consistency is achieved by following Realistic, Progressive, and Maintainable strategies for long-term results. This is the cornerstone of the R.P.M. weight loss philosophy.

In the end, you are free to choose what you do or do not do. The decisions you make and the habits that you form determine your outcome. That means that you are in control, you are responsible for your actions. This is both a powerful and an empowering statement.

Lesson - You CONTROL your environment; your environment does not have control over you.

Finally, the third lesson is - PLAN. You have to be aware of your surroundings and make a plan that is realistic for you. Any good plan has a direct route and an infinite number of alternate routes. We all know that perfection does not exist, so stop trying to hold you to the perfect plan. You will ultimately fail. For long-term success, I recommend that you think in terms of “better bad” not perfect. Look for ways to enjoy life's little pleasures but be accountable for your actions. Look for ways to move more during the day, not only in the gym but at the office and at home as well.

Most importantly, stay positive. Remember that one meal does not “blow it” and missing one workout does not destroy your week or make it impossible to achieve the goal that you chose. The only way you will not succeed long-term is by giving up.

The R.P.M. Principles:

Realistic:

The R simply means that the change must fit your current and NEXT lifestyle. If it does not, you will not keep doing it and will return to your previous habits (see Stages of Change). Choose foods that you enjoy eating and will continue to eat. Choose methods that allow you to control your energy intake. Choose a fitness plan that you can and will stick with.

The “Perfect Plan” is not very good if you will not do it.

Progressive:

Choose the habits to change that you know you can change. When you “own” those habits, then you can add/layer more. There is no need to tackle everything at once. Do what you can do, not what you cannot. A -> B then B -> C and so on.

This method will serve you much better than adopting a “Willpower will win” mentality.

Utilize SKILLPOWER over Will Power. Will Power gives out quickly.

Maintainable:

Success comes from the continuation of habits. Choose against short -term methods for long-term goals. Strategies that you can do daily and repeatedly will always win out over “quick fixes.” If you cannot envision yourself doing something consistently, then you are setting up eventual failure. Refocus your efforts and reset your thought process. A à B

Control

You control your outcome because you control your environment.

You control the thoughts you think and the actions you take.

You control how much you eat or do not eat. You control how much you move or do not move.

Consistency

Your results are a product of your habits over time. If you consistently have more good habits than bad ones then your outcome will be a good one. Consistently strive to do better.

Plan

Planning produces positive performance. If you leave your goals to spontaneity and guesswork then that will be your result. If you utilize Proper Planning you will insure your Positive performance.

In Part II we will provide specific actions for your success.

To your success,

Robert