Commitment

What does this word mean to you?? To me it means making a promise and seeing it through. It means I've pledged to do something. I'm taking responsibility for applying myself 100%. It also makes me think of a marriage or a relationship.....Have you ever heard the phrase, Weight loss is like a marriage, you cant keep cheating and expecting it to work? The fantastic thing about Slimming World is it's not a diet, you're not good or bad, you're not breaking it or sticking to it, it's not about cheating, it's about food optimising the best you can. I don't like the word cheat, break, bad etc as they are all negative words. It's become the new fad to have a 'cheat' day. We don't use this term in Slimming world as it can be dangerous to your weight loss and your motivation. One cheat day can equal a whole weeks worth of syns!! Or even one cheat meal. Let's think about this, after group you might eat say a dominos pizza as a cheat meal. That could be 80 syns gone. Then you food optimise all week with your syns and only get a small loss or a maintain or even a gain. If you add on the syns from the magical treat night you might of gone way over. After group isn't a black hole ha ha, trust me I wish it was!! As soon as we step off the scales, we step in to a brand new week. Instead think about what's making you want to cheat???? Cheating in life is usually the result of feeling too restricted, just giving up and not wanting to try anymore, boredom or unhappiness. If you're feeling restricted are you being too rigid? Are you making sure you are having lots of lovely free foods, healthy extras and syns? If so hopefully you won't feel the need to cheat. If you're bored, easy, go online, try new recipes, use the magazines, recipe books, social media etc...... If you really want to be successful but can't live without a flexible syn day, then have a flexible syn day. Set a limit, count backwards and that way you'll feel in control still and not guilty for blowing it. We can't guarantee a loss but it's a lot more likely to give you one than a full blown cheat day or meal. Ask your consultant for more info or see my blog on tools.Losing weight does take a lot of commitment and choice power. First off it's about committing to coming to group every week, rain or shine, on an amazing week or a tricky week. Of course if you're on holiday or too poorly that's perfectly understandable, we have absence weeks to allow for that. Then it's about not just going to get weight, but committing to staying to image therapy too. You need to commit to food optimising and making new grooves. What does this mean?!?! It means rather than having a high syn takeaway for example, you make your own or choose a low syn option. It means if you want a bar of chocolate you have it within your syns as opposed to a massive bar of dairy milk (I used to have the yard ones they used to do at Xmas!). It means swopping the 2 bottles of wine for less wine, or switching to sprits. You get the idea.If you've walked through the door of a slimming club you've done so because you really want to lose weight, you need support, motivation and to be inspired. This is what you'll get in group. This is what as consultants we commit to give to you in massive doses. It's very easy to give up or pay weigh and go, but if you really really want to reach your dream weight you'll never give up. You'll stay committed and not let anything get in your way. We know that members who attend their group every week lose weight more successfully than those who miss weeks – and they’re much more likely to keep going to reach their Personal Achievement Target weight. This is why we talk about commitment as we really do care.So where are you at on a commitment scale of 1-10??? 10 being very committed and 0 being not at all committed? Then think about how badly you want this??? Now do those numbers match up? Just wanting something won't make it happen, you need to make it happen."Sometimes all the resources and accountability in the world can't make up for one of the most important keys to success – commitment to your weight loss and health goals. You can have the vision, a plan, resource tools, and support but without heart-felt commitment to ignite the passion to go the distance, success may be fleeting."Here is another scale to help you rate your commitment to reaching your weight loss goals.Not Very Committed - You acknowledge the importance of eating right and exercising. You have joined fitness centers or purchased workout equipment but they never seem to get used. You have been known to purchase great looking workout clothes but many of them still contain the tags. You have the best intentions to make changes but something always seems to get in the way. You have tried many diets. Unfortunately, you quickly give them up in favor of your favorite foods or parties with friends.Somewhat Committed - You have been told you need to make lifestyle changes to improve your health and you believe it is important. You want to make the changes but making time in your schedule with work, family, and friends proves difficult. You use your gym membership or home equipment and follow your "diet" every couple of weeks but quickly fall out of a routine.Very Committed - You are learning to make changes and are determined to see this new lifestyle change through. Although there are a variety of things in your diet that still need attention, you are making progress with small, sustained changes. You are willing to continuously learn new habits and seek information and motivational help. You are learning what foods are best for your lifestyle and have found ways to get exercise that you enjoy. Frustration at the slow pace sets in from time to time and makes you want to give up but you quickly get back on track with the encouragement of others. Finding the balance with work, family, and personal time is always a battle but you are learning to make it all fit to reach your goals. While you have significantly reduced your visits to restaurants and use of convenience foods, you are still learning to embrace the social implications. You believe slow and steady will win the race and accept that you can't be perfect but work to do the best you can each day.Passionately Committed - You fully embrace the principles of your new lifestyle and have fully incorporated them into your day to day life. Visits to restaurants are easy as you know what to choose. You have very limited convenience foods. Nutrient rich meals and meaningful time with family and friends have taken their place. Exercise is enjoyable and you now miss it on days you take off. You have found a wonderful balance between work, family and community and your healthy lifestyle and outlook compliment every aspect of your life. You are setting new goals, love the new "you" that has been discovered and your positive changes have been noticed and inspirational to others.Zealously Committed - Your standards for healthy living are very high. Strict rules and guidelines regulate what you eat or how you exercise. You are willing to sacrifice all aspects of your life to achieve your goals. You do not notice the impact your eating and exercise choices have on others around you. Those that do not jump on board with your level of commitment easily irritate and annoy you. When family or friends suggest you are too committed, you become defensive. You find wonderful comfort and control in your life from the food and exercise routines you embrace.So which are you?? I'd say I used to be the zealously committed one lol but I've chilled out a bit now and I'm the very committed one. No one is perfect, life gets in the way sometimes. The key is to not beat yourself up and crack on.How can you boost your commitment??? A Countdown course can really help!! It offers members a special opportunity to commit themselves much more strongly to their slimming journey– and to receive a financial benefit too, in the form of one free week (out of 6) when you commit to a 6-week Countdown course, and two free weeks (out of 12) when you buy a 12-week Countdown. Holidays need to be pre booked so you are essentially saying I'm going to be at group for the next 6 weeks or 12 weeks and I'm 100% committing to that.You can also use planning and ensure you're prepared. Diarying out time for group to stay, planning meals and preparing in advance. If you're away or on a night out having a think about how you'll cope with that before hand. Never be embarrassed of your level of commitment, never think you're being rude if you are put in a situation that could jeopardise your commitment. It's not that you can't have something, it's that you're choosing not to or you've got a low syn alternative.I lost my weight very quickly as I was 100% committed. I'm more relaxed now I'm a size 10, but I know if I want to get back to my target weight I need to strengthen my commitment at weekends. Food I'm perfect, alcohol not so much!! I am married to Slimming World. It's changed my life and I'll never ever go back to the way I used to eat. I've been there, done that and got the extra large t shirt. The commitment I've put in is soooooooooooooo worth it!!You can do it!!!!I've not shared all my recent meal photos on my blog for a while as I tend to,post the, on fb. But for my non fb followers I've attached some for you. Also some recent purchases!!Happy Fopping all xxx