When you tell someone your goal, you can experience what's called a "social reality." The mind is tricked into thinking that you've already accomplished the goal and therefore after you've felt the satisfaction from saying it aloud, you are less motivated to do the hard work to really reach the goal.
But wait? I thought you were supposed to tell your friends your goals? Sorry, stop doing it. Scientific study trumps conventional wisdom on this one. Look at this TED talk by Derek Sivers and learn more.
Resist the temptation to announce your goals. Delay the gratification. I know it feels good to say what you're going to do, but imagine how you'd feel if you waited until you'd actually reached it? Make no mistake, the mind can mistake talking for doing.
As you set your New Year's resolution to lose weight, here's a motivating story.
It was my 2011 resolution to drop 30 lbs. Being immersed in my MBA program at SUU for over a year took all my spare time that I would have used for exercise. I was up to 185 and I needed to get down to a healthy and comfortable 155 (160 would even do).
I'm a fan of Tim Ferriss so of course I was planning to read
The 4-Hour Body any way. The moment I downloaded the book on my Kindle for iPad app in January of this year, I noticed the
Slow Carb Diet and the promise of dropping 20 lbs in 30 days without any exercise. Sounded good to me!
Basically, here's what I did:
- I cut out all sweets, no candy, no soda (pop), juice etc.
- I said no to my favorite pastries, banana bread or bread of any kind. It was hard giving up the white carbs but I avoided them like the plague.
- I gave up potatoes and any potato products completely.
- My only exception was wheat tortillas.
- I only drank water, I cut my intake of milk down to a cup every 3 days or so.
- For Breakfast at 5-6am I ate 1/2 cup of spinach, 3-5 eggs, and 1/2 cup of black or refried beans with salsa along with 32oz of ice water.
- For Lunch around 1-2pm I'd eat a bowl of beans and whatever vegetables I had, usually green beans. Some days I would eat White Chicken Chili. Throughout the day I would drink at least another 32oz of water.
- For Dinner around 6-7pm I would eat grilled chicken breasts like they were going out of style. I'd include more water and 1-2 cups of vegetables and salad. Instead of dressing I'd supplement cottage cheese.
- After every meal I would do 30 squats and 30 tricep extensions...even at restaurants..
- Most nights and mornings I do 30 pushups, pull-ups and sit-ups. Just a habit from my late teens.
Through this diet change I fell in love with the eggs, spinach and beans combo and learned how to make the meal in several different forms. I had to add the cheese for flavor. Tim said it was Ok if it was just a pinch (I have pretty big pinches). Here's a picture of an omelet version:
This is how it usually looked before adding salsa, I prefer Jack's Salsa or the Kirkland Signature brand.
End Result:
- I dropped down 30 lbs and was down to 155 by the end of March.
- I could have down it faster, but I was in no rush and some days I just needed to down a loaf of my wife's banana bread (binge days are Ok, I took one once every couple weeks).
- I could only do it with the support of my wonderful wife, she adjusted her cooking a lot for me. She even lost weight, not that she needed to.
- I fell in love with the breakfast and now it has become my morning tradition. Sure, some days I just want some crapes or waffles. But this is my staple.
- I've eased off the Lunch and Dinner meals but I weight myself everyday and if I notice I've gained some pounds from the big Sunday dinner the night before I just go back onto the Slow Carb Diet and the weight just sheds off.
- I've maintained a weight of 155-160 since March and I haven't even started running again...and I don't think I will, I prefer intense games of Dodgeball and hiking.
My friends and coworkers thought I was nuts but they all know it works. I know the breakfast looks gross, but it only works with spinach. I didn't like the idea at first but I would just tell people to try it for a week and see what happens. Everyone who tried it out lost weight. Whether they stuck with it or not, well that was up to their level of discipline.
I'm pretty much an expert on the Slow Carb Diet. If you ever have any questions about it, like Do's and Don't's etc. just ask me and I'd be ha ppy to advise you.
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