Weight loss success: Day 24
Dr. Thomas Horvath in his book Sex Drugs Gambling and Chocolate noted the following:
“If you keep faithfully busy, the final result will happen in time. This means you will have to be patient with your progress on a day to day basis. Slow, gradual progress brought on by regular attention and effort is much more likely to stay with you than are sudden bursts of effort that can also suddenly fade away.
Particularly in the first month or two of a new habit, daily attention is needed. Part of what we mean by habit is that the behavior occurs without much conscious effort. You will only get to that auto-pilot level with regular repetition. Once you are there, you will again have more attention available to develop the next habit you want to work on. Life is a series of habit-building experiences. If you take control of the process, you will build the kind of life you want to have.”
How to lose weight: tip #6 Plan what snacks are OK. I always have Chewy protein bars with me (you can buy a 5 pack at Wal-mart for 2 bucks). When starving between meals I take one bite and put the rest in a zip lock bag (squeeze the air out so it stays fresh).
thepositivepsychologypeople.com noted the following
“Self-regulation is exerting control over oneself in order to have success. This strength can apply both to resisting temptations, such as when a dieter avoids sugary foods, and to initiating actions, such as when someone gets up early to exercise.
- Eliminate objects of temptation (dieting – don’t eat junk food; alcohol – don’t socialize in bars; smoking – replace cigarettes with chewing gum; shopping – leave credit card or money at home)
- Start a regular workout routine and make sure you stick to it.
- Next time you get upset, try to control your emotions and focus on positive attributes.
- When you get upset, try to do a progressive relaxation
- Self-congratulate for self-regulation when you successfully resist an indulgence.
- Carefully create routines that you can follow thorough systematically. Make minor adjustments as needed but keep the core elements intact.
- Establish a regular time and a place for most of your activities.
- Identify your role models and examine them in detail. Let these details inspire and regulate your goals.
- Do partial or complete fasting or deliberately resist a comfort (e.g., chocolate, ice-cream, sex, TV) for a while. Reward yourself with it after accomplishing a challenging task.”
- moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.
2. habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion.
It is true that Temperance means self-control. It is control over the whole man (spirit, soul, and body) which enables us to live a victorious life. As 1Cor. 9:25 implies And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.
If you want to develop the fruit of self-control, you have to do a couple of things:
1. Stop believing the lie! The lie that giving up that which will bring temperance in your life will be too painful. We need to concentrate on what we really want (fitness, heath etc) rather than what we want now.
God is waiting eagerly to respond with new strength to each little act of self-control, small disciplines of prayer, feeble searching after him. And his children shall be filled if they will only hunger and thirst after what he offers.” The Bible is very clear that we are supposed to be thinking about fulfilling our purpose, being filled with the Spirit, filled with love, spreading the Gospel – not thinking and obsessing about food.
Addiction runs contrary to love. Make a greater effort and plan new ways every day for how you will treat others with love. Think of 4 ways on how you will show love to God today. Plan to have a time and a place for Bible study and prayer today.
Work on sleeping well today. Try to get adequate sleep and if your sleep is inconsistent or restless start to study deep breathing exercises and learn how to use them. You can fight your addiction better if you are well rested.
Key Point: Write out a list of things that you will think about (instead of food) and pray about and review it every day for 10 days or as long as it takes to renew your thinking.
What knocks you off the wagon? You know what did it in the past but you don’t know what will do it in the future – or do you? You do, it will likely be the same exact thing that tripped you up in the past. For example, you have avoided overindulging for 26 days and here comes the Christmas party. While the food is nothing special you have almost never avoided overindulging and it has sent you spiraling.
Think for 5 minutes about what “always” trips you up when you are doing well?
Now write it down. Now think about how often you will need to pray about “it” so that from now on it will “never” trip you up again.
If you pray morning noon and night for 30 days that Jesus Christ will help be filled with the Spirit (which satisfies) instead of overindulging, it will almost be a miracle if you do slip up. If after all that prayer you are not empowered to have self-control you may want to check if you are slipping into others sins too often to get your prayers answered. If that is happening you may want to check if your life is a vacant empty vacuum with no heavenly purpose. If that is the case I have the answer for you – repent and do things God’s way.
Read Psalm 9
Pray every day: Father help me to have toughness and temperance so that I can overcome my addictions