Jenn J

Day 2: Interested or committed?


Debbie was discouraged. "Whenever I start a new diet, I'm so determined to stay on it until I reach my goal. But after just a few weeks, something comes up-a party, someone's birthday-and next thing I know, I slip off my plan and give up."

Do you feel totally determined to stick with your efforts, or do you entertain a few nagging thoughts about "having fun" instead of staying on your plan? If you tend to start and stop every time you diet, you may want to look at the difference between being interested and being committed.

Interest slips away quickly

With interested, you tend to stay with your plans only until something better comes along. For example, you may decide that you're interested in losing weight, but when someone brings doughnuts to work, you quickly go off your diet.

When you're just interested in dieting, you depend on seeing results to keep you on target. So, as long as the scale keeps moving, you stay motivated. But if you hit a plateau or you don't see much progress for a few weeks, you may throw your program out the window.

Then, when you struggle, you blame everyone but yourself. You accuse your friends of ruining your diet because they eat potato chips in front of you. In addition, you fall into "if only" thinking, saying things like, "If only I had more time, more money, a new job, or a supportive spouse, then I'd be able to stay on my plan."

Committed means "no matter what!"

When you're truly committed to achieving your goals, you have an entirely different outlook. Unlike being interested, where it doesn't take much to detract you from your goals, being committed means you stick with it, no matter what.

Rather than depending on results to help you stay on track, you work on keeping your motivation strong, knowing that results will follow. You don't blame circumstances or other people for your struggles. Instead, you stay on your diet in spite of not having enough money, time, or supportive friends and family members.

Look carefully at your current efforts. If you tend to easily fall away from your weight-loss plan, decide if you're taking the interested approach. If so, strive for being committed instead. Start adopting a "no matter what" attitude, then convince yourself you can stay with your goals regardless of your daily challenges.