Four Keys To Success

I am reading a great book by Candace Cameron Bure. You might remember her on Full House as DJ Tanner. She has written a great book called Reshaping It All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness. This is one of the things I am using to help me keep the right frame of mind about my whole weight loss journey. 

The chapter I am on right now is called Unlock Your Freedom. It talks about the keys to success. I know I want success in this adventure. And I want to keep it off for good. I don't want to travel down this road again over and over again anymore. I have done that all of my adult life. 

So the first key is Willpower. We can't just want to do something, we have to put action behind  it. We can strengthen our willpower through positive thoughts. That makes sense, doesn't it? Negative thoughts sure don't make it easier to accomplish something. We have to keep our thoughts positive in order to accomplish weight loss. Plus willpower is what it takes to push on even when obstacles get in our way, including stress.

The next key is Belief. What we believe will be our outcome. We need to choose to believe we can succeed. We need to believe that our bodies were created to be a certain way and through healthy eating we can live a more abundant life. We have a choice to believe negative thoughts or positive ones. I want to be a positive person and believe I can succeed.

The third key is Decision. Each small decision we make builds to make a bigger picture. Every time we say no to something we shouldn't eat that takes that want a little farther away. I have successfully cut out soda again. It was really easy this time because I had given it up four years ago and only just started having a few here and there this past year. I am limiting sweets to a bare minimal. Not because I have to, because I choose to. I have a goal in mind, a purpose. I don't want to weigh this anymore. So even though saying no to one candy bar might seem small, it really isn't. I was able to purchase one for my husband on Saturday and didn't even think about buying one for myself. The desire wasn't even there. That is progress, especially for a chocoholic like myself. 

The fourth key is Action. Nothing will happen without action.You have to put action to your decisions, belief and willpower. We can want something all day long but without action we aren't going to get it. If we need to set aside a certain time to workout then we better do it. Then when that time comes around don't hesitate but jump in there and get it done. I know I feel so much better after I have worked out, even when it was at 6 in the morning. I was proud of myself for getting up and working out. I knew I had done something to move forward in what I wanted. 

We have to put all four together to succeed. We can't just rely on one or the other. They work together. I know I don't have as much to go as some, but to me, it seems like a great deal. I have gotten down to 150 pounds before but I really need to reach a much lower amount on the scales. For my height I should weigh between 120 and 130. I was 120 pounds for a long time before I had children. I would like to try working all the fat off my body and toning as best I can and see what that looks like on the scales. I could weigh more because muscle weighs more than fat. I didn't have much muscle on my body back then even though I was 120 pounds. I plan to have a toned body and will be fine if that looks like more on the scales. 

Some key thoughts: I have been putting my goals into action. I have been watching portion control and counting my calories since the beginning of December. I have been working out almost daily for the past three weeks. I have been taking care of my face daily like I should. It is my desire to have overall better health. 

What goals are you going to put the four keys into practice to accomplish?

Changing my life a day at a time.