Weigh In With Dan - Discipline Not Diet

Good day my fellow lover's of life! As the East Coast once again prepares to shovel snow, I thought I'd instead procrastinate--just for a bit--and spend the afternoon blogging. I want to again thank all of you that have sent me your concerns and taken the time to "Weigh in with Dan." Today's concerns will be focusing on the dreaded DIET WAGON. You know the one I'm talking about, as I'm sure most of us have all fallen off a few times. And you'll recognize the contraption by the spirit broken people--usually sporting a few extra pounds--lying flat in its dust! Well, I say, it's time we get off the wagon and start a new journey--on foot if we must! PEACE. Dan

Q.) Rhonda: Sometimes, I'm totally focused months. I'm really good.  We have huge family dinners and I'm OK, then for some reason I lose my will for a couple days or even a week.  I don't understand it. What advice would you give? I think it has to do a lot with my illness--I'm bipolar--but I still need to be focused. Advice???

A.) Thank you for your question Rhonda. My first thought or response on your question is: Don't be so hard on yourself. It's great to be strict and stick to a program, but I have learned to enjoy special events, such as holidays. From time to time, I give myself permission to enjoy some of those not so healthy foods.

Part of the reason I/we workout IS to enjoy those special events. If you never give in, if you never allow yourself a little fun--enjoy the foods you love-- you will become discouraged and eventually fall, sometimes a bit too hard.

Boy, do I know how painful that is!

I'd get so gung-ho, kicking butt and take names, so to speak. I'd start the latest diet craze with great determination, and then one of those special events would pop up.  I wouldn't touch a thing! I would say no to the deserts, no to the carbohydrates, no to soda and chips, and all the foods that I love and everybody else was enjoying. Man, it was torture. And it wasn't more than a month down the road, when a bad day would happen, and something would go wrong in my daily life. I'd be so weak from denying myself everything for so long that my vulnerability would win over and I'd cave.  On a binge, I wouldn't eat just one Krumpe donut; I would eat a box.  Then I'd move on to burgers and whatever else I fancied, falling so hard, it would take an act of congress to get back on track.

The weight this put on my spirit, my will, was hard pressed to patch after days of eating and feeling less than a human being. Only God knows--literally!--how I managed to pick myself up.

Don't do that to yourself, Rhonda.

Keep active, exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle as much as you can, but give yourself a day here and there to celebrate your success with a small treat--small, being the key here--and remember, you're not on a diet. You're on the road to a healthier lifestyle, a permanent change for the better.   

It's OK to enjoy those special events in life--guilt free. When you call the shots, you will feel and in fact be in control.  And with this new found sense of power, you won't cave in as easily the next time a temptation falls before you.  It's worth repeating: It's all about decisions Rhonda; salad and grilled chicken today, and that slice of pizza some other day, as a reward.  Take that walk in the park or that swim at the gym. Love yourself, enjoy life, and it will come together.

There's no such thing as a diet, but rather, daily decisions. (Wink).

Go get em Rhonda!

PEACE

Dan

Q.) James: Dan, what is your secret, the key to staying on track.  

A.) There is no real secret or trick, James.  Even I fall off track from time to time. We all do! It's a normal part of life, I believe, when one is trying to live a healthier lifestyle.  It's what you do after you get sidetracked that makes your story a successful one.  It's real easy to just stay off the wagon, I know, I've been there. I understand how hard it is to pull ourselves up, trying again and again, each time feeling a little less motivated.  

So what is the key? My personal opinion, one forged from many years of failing before finally succeeding, is to stop thinking of this journey as a temporary ride!  We have to stop putting so much emphasis on the diet ideology. They're temporary and you're not on a diet. You're making a forever-life-change. This is a journey that you should expect to travel the rest of your life. It doesn't have a particular destination, where it's suddenly over and done with. This is a new way of living and it goes on forever! 

I say, expect to get off track, once in awhile, James. You're human.

When we choose to eat ice cream and or pizza one day, we shouldn't beat ourselves up for it. We haven't committed some horrible crime. It's not all downhill from there. It's just a bump in this journey that we're forever on and it's still moving forward.

Don't let a missed day at the gym or a piece of pie stop the train!  Get back on and ride off into the sunset, yelling HIGH-HO-SILVER-AWAY.

PEACE

Dan

**Today's questions came to Dan via Facebook **