BELIEVE in Yourself!

So many of us come into this program as 'skeptics'. We've landed here, how or when doesn't really matter, but we GOT here, and we've decided to "TRY" this program...but we're not convinced, not really in our heart of hearts, that it can actually, truly, WORK.

If you're just starting, or even if you've been here for awhile and are struggling -- say you're in a plateau or you are fighting with those last 20 lbs (which are notoriously the slowest to come off, by the way) -- it's easy to 'lose hope' and think "Well, maybe it worked for HER, but it's not going to for me. I'll be a MF 'failure'. I CAN'T do this.".

Please, please, I beg you....STOP that negative self-talk!

If you had a friend, a really good friend, who called you and started talking about herself this way, what would you do?

You'd tell her to CUT IT OUT, wouldn't you? You'd tell her of COURSE she can do it, she's stronger than she realizes, and YES she IS worth it, YES she CHANGE change, etc.

Wouldn't you?

Of COURSE YOU WOULD! Because you love your friend, and you don't want to hear her 'put herself down' like that.

EVERYONE needs a friend like that...and some of us are lucky enough to have them. (some of us are even lucky enough to call them 'Coaches'!)

My point is you wouldn't tolerate a friend getting 'down' on herself like that.

SO WHY ARE YOU DOING IT TO YOURSELF?

Why are you putting yourself down like that? Why are you being so negative? Why not have a little FAITH in yourself?

"You can do ANYTHING if you put your mind to it."
That's true....(I always remember this as my fav line from "Back to the Future"....one of my fav movies, not necessarily because of the car or the time travel, but because of the lasting FRIENDSHIP between Marty and the 'Doc'!)

When the chips were down they encouraged each other.

We do that for each other here....but I think it's just as important that you DO IT FOR YOURSELF.
After all, YOU are the one having to live with yourself...and all your thoughts, and your 'Fat Brain' or negative voices inside...so it's UP TO YOU to fight that negativity and BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

That's why it's so important to cherish, relish, and yes, even BRAG about those NSVs (non-scale victories) as well as scale victories here! Because acknowledging them, in writing, makes them more 'real' and gives them more importance in your brain, and that's training your brain, that's rewarding it for the kinds of behavior you want!

Conversely....the more you stress and berate yourself over your 'failures', over your slip-ups, the worse you feel, the more Fat Brain starts talking louder and louder until....you just figure 'Oh what the heck, I'm not going to succeed anyway...I might as well EAT' and then you're going down into the food pit again.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. When everyone else is questioning what you're doing (and you WILL hear krazy stuff out there....because there are a lot of 'wrong ideas' about Medifast, unfortunately...people who think it's 'just shakes' or that you are truly 'fasting' - i.e., starving -- or people who think it's a great way to lose but you 'gain it all back' (ask our maintainers, they will vehemently DISAGREE)....), just SMILE and NOD and KEEP ON DOING THE PROGRAM.

Don't let ANYONE stop you if this is what you want.

Least of all....YOURSELF!

If you fail, get right back up again. Not the next day. The NEXT MEAL. (Yes I'm serious and YES I've done this!)

And don't be afraid to admit it...because we really do learn from our mistakes....I've said it over and over and I'll keep saying it...if you can get past your ANGER and GUILT and ANALYZE 'why' you slipped....well, then you can learn some valuable lessons to prevent it happening again!  And that's a VICTORY because it's one less 'pothole' you have to worry about, you know how to handle that situation now.

And every situation is different...it's amazing to me (still!) how I'm still learning that there are times when my 'automatic response' is ... to eat! And I have to stop myself and go 'What is THIS about?' and I LEARN from it.

Sometimes I fail! I'm not perfect! NONE OF US is. But I keep trying, I hang in there, I keep on keepin' on no matter WHAT, and consequently those 'naysayers' who swore that this program wouldn't work for me? Suddenly they have 'selective memory'....they are saying things like 'I always KNEW you could do it.'  (yeah, RIGHT LOL) bragging to their friends/neighbors/etc. that "Linda lost over 70 lbs, isn't that right?" (and then I'm supposed to turn in a slow circle and smile and talk about my weight loss...my Mother is FAMOUS for this LOL....)

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. When all else fails. When you're down to your last MF meal of SOUP or (God forbid), EGGS and you don't know where you'll find the money for your next order.  Pray on it and you'll get the answer. Post about it, maybe someone can offer a suggestion you didn't think of before.

When your hand is (literally) in the cookie jar. (which you should've gotten RID of those cookies Week ONE! LOL). 

When you get on the scale and it goes...(gasp)...UP! 
Or even worse...stays the same for like, the THIRD week in a row (sometimes that's even WORSE....but guess what? When you get to maintenance this feels GREAT LOL)...

When you are looking forward to your little MF meal and thinking "I'm starving". (no you're not....you're probably dehydrated...how's your water consumption today?)

LOL....there's always an answer...a POSITIVE answer...IF....

You believe in yourself.

YOU CAN DO THIS. I know it seems the road is impossibly long and that you'll 'never' get there. I felt that way, too. But you know what? If you just put your head down and DO it, ONE MEAL AT A TIME (and by the way don't get all fixated on the scale for pete's sakes...it's just ONE tool, ONE measurement, but that tape measure and HOW YOU FEEL and those jeans are even BETTER indicators....) then you WILL get there.

I stopped with the 'goals'.....I know Stop/Challenge/Choose has us making goals this week, SMART goals....it keeps us committed to the program overall, but to be honest I only had ONE GOAL.

And that was...to GET to goal! Oh, I could break it into increments ('my next goal is to get to onederland' etc.) but the truth was?
My weight loss 'goals' were REWARDS.

My GOAL was always simple. STAY OP. That's all.

Keep it simple for yourself, keep your head down and just DO IT. Don't overthink it, don't overstress about it, don't hop on and off the scale, don't compare your weight loss to your friends' weight losses.  Just WORK THE PROGRAM.

And the miracle can happen to YOU.

Keep on keepin' on and have a great OP day!