How To Hit Your Weight Loss Goal

I want you to try something, place a waste basket six feet from where you are sitting; next crumple a piece of paper up until it is in the shape of a ball. Now focus on the paper ball, really look at it, put all you energy into noticing everything about that crumpled ball of paper, now without taking your eyes off of it, and without glancing at the trash can, attempt to shoot the paper into the waste basket. How did you do?

Retrieve your paper ball and this time I want you to focus on the trash can -- attempt to make basket while looking at the can. Was it easier to hit your target when you could clearly see it? In this experiment you might have hit the basket without looking at it but there would have been an element of luck involved. Most people would admit that it is easier to hit your goal when you can clearly see what you are aiming for.

We lose track of this simple law when we go on a diet. So many diets fail because our focus is on the wrong thing. Have you ever gone on a diet and spent a couple days reading and learning everything about it, then you spend a couple more days stocking the house with the foods recommended in the diet, then you get really involved and start reading every food label, measuring and weighing your food and counting every calorie you put in your mouth. Have you ever found all this focus to be kind of overwhelming? Does feeling overwhelmed make you want to continue with the diet or quit?

The reason so many diets fail is because we exert 100% of our focus and energy on doing diet related "stuff", much in the same way we put all our focus on the crumpled ball of paper in our experiment. This focus on detail makes us lose sight of our goal and we start to entertain feelings like, "I don't think this is worth so much effort."

What if you put your diet plan in place (i.e. crumple your piece of paper) and then when it seems to be working you shifted your focus onto the benefits of losing the weight (i.e. the trash can)? Notice that you haven't stopped doing the diet related stuff, you are still monitoring your food intake, but you are also taking some of your time, energy and focus and devoting it to creating a crystal clear vision of what life will be like at your goal weight. You envision how free your body feels and how much energy you have, you put yourself in a state of joyful expectation about hitting your goal. Now instead of feeling overwhelmed by all that must be done, you feel excited and motivated to keep going because you can clearly see what you want.

If you have found it difficult to stick to a diet plan then take notice to how you go about dieting. Do you focus on the work or on the reward? Do you focus on the day-by-day tasks or the joy that awaits you? You have not failed at dieting in the past you have simply had misdirected focus, shift your focus toward your target and you will greatly increase your chance of hitting it.

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