Great Myth – 21 Days

I’m sure everyone has heard that if you do something for 21 days in a row that it will form a habit and be hard to break. Or maybe you have heard that a bad habit is hard to break? That is just as true for good habits. I know in the beginning that it can be really hard to believe. Trust me…sometimes when I start this “diet” the first few weeks I want to hurt people. And when 7:00 or 8:00 in the evening come, it is just plain scary. I feel like I’m having an out of body experience. But, this is the thing, if you can make it through those first few weeks you will start to really feel a difference even during late night snack time. Your stomach and body are starting to get used to the idea that this is what I’m getting so I’d better get used to it and your stomach is actually shrinking a little so you won’t feel like you are starving all of the time. And here is the best part, once you get to the 3^rd or 4^th week, it really does begin to be a habit. Writing down every calorie becomes second nature and as you are writing them down your mind takes over some and you actually feel more and more empowered by seeing those numbers. You know how many calories you want to stay around and you don’t want to go over. You become more determined than ever to reach that goal. And when you start to feel that way, I guarantee you will feel better as a person as well. Here is another positive nugget for you to think about. We all have week moments. And sometimes you will break this habit and have a bad week. You have been doing so well for so long and you finally just go of the rails and eat every snack you see….okay….maybe not that crazy but you know what I mean. The point is that it happens. But you know what, you have already been done the hard part which is in the very beginning so it is that much easier to get back on track. But this can be a danger zone. If you let 1 week of going off the rails become 2 weeks it is very easy to start packing on the pounds quickly. Remember in the beginning I said something very obvious but it is worth repeating. It is way easier to gain weight than to lose it. If you have lost 10 pounds you should be proud of yourself, but you should also want to remain focused on keeping it off. So…have your one 1 week and get back on the horse. And finally, this is the best part. Let’s say that you want to lose 15 pounds. Once you have lost it you can up your calories to whatever the number is to maintain your weight. You can play with that number for a few weeks and you will be able to tell what you need to be at and you are set. You will feel like you are eating a buffet every night when you can go back to eating 2500 calories a day to maintain!