By Denise Walsh

Did you know that the #1 New Years resolution is to LOSE WEIGHT?  Yet over 90% never make it past the first few months?!  WHY?  Fitness has been a big part of my life for a long time and I love turning people onto the fact that exercise doesn’t have to be a chore!

I recently competed in my first ever fitness competition and experienced some pretty amazing changes in my mind and body as I completely transformed my diet and trained daily for more than 6 consecutive months… I had so many people approach me and ask questions like, “How did you do it?” “How did you stay motivated and stay on track for so long?”

If that’s you – wondering not only how to get started on a new eating and workout regimen, but how to REALLY stick with your new habits to create long-lasting change, I have a few pieces of advice to share with you…

First – Every choice matters. 99% is a bear – 100% is a breeze.

This is so important to remember.

One of my favorite personal development books of all time is The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.  In it, he explains that the choices we make today impact our tomorrow.  Once I solidified my WHY and gained a clear picture of what I wanted my tomorrow to look like – I knew that every choice either moved me closer to or further away from my goals.  In this case, it was a bodybuilding competition that was MONTHS away.  I found myself wondering – “will TODAY’S decisions impact my show in October?”  It seemed crazy that chips and salsa today could impact my long-term results.  But what I found was, it DID!

My mindset began to change from, “How much harm can one brownie do?!” to “Choosing veggies is keeping me on track towards my goals!”

You see, the problem is not with the brownie.  The problem, for me, was that it never was JUST ONE!  If I gave myself permission to have “one bite” or “one brownie” – I found that one, led to two, led to … off track!  I always had to make the choice – “should I have that? Or shouldn’t I have that?”

As they say, 99% is a bear – 100% is a breeze!

Once I took “cheating” out of the equation, I no longer had to make a choice.  I saw results.  And it felt easier.

Second – The story you are telling yourself.

Once I knew that I wanted to stick to my meal plan, and took cheating off the table, I still had cravings, darn it!!  I am sure you do too!

I still wanted some foods that I knew would take me off course.  And I found that the story (my self-talk) I told myself made the biggest difference on if I stuck to my plan, or I didn’t.

I learned that it is very easy for us to give our FUTURE selves more credit.  This is why we say, “tomorrow – I will eat better” or “tomorrow I will workout”

Then tomorrow comes and we say the same thing all over again!

Here are a few things I told myself when I had cravings.

• If I am going to cheat, TODAY is NOT the day
• Nothing tastes as good as FIT feels
• I will be so proud of myself tomorrow morning because of the choices I make today!
• I can have that on Sunday – just not now.
• I am developing my will-power muscle and this is a good test.

It worked.  I am not saying it was easy, but it worked!

The TAKEAWAY

• Get a clear picture of what you want your TOMORROW to look like and be 100% ALL IN.  Take cheating off the table.
• Create new self-talk habits for when you have cravings or temptations.
• And know that it IS worth it!!! ♥