No More Diets

How do I get more motivated to work out…I start for a week and then stop.

The only real answer to this is to find something you love to do so that nothing will stop you doing it.

I think we torture ourselves too much by thinking that nothing less than a full gym program will do when we would do far better to get active with dancing or skating or skiing (or whatever else floats our boat) - something that will not need so much willpower to keep up.

If you insist on trying to do a program which is a chore rather than a pleasure then the only way to motivate yourself is to do it for long enough to feel the benefits before you let yourself stop.

I took up running this year against my better judgement - I knew I didn’t like running at all but it was for a charity race. I simply had to get my running clothes on and get out of the door three times a week. What helped initially was having the race to aim for and a training program to follow. What helped later was the fantastic feeling I got when I came home from a run. (And I did enjoy the race in the end!)

How do I find the will power not to eat from 2pm until supper at 5pm?

I’m not sure which program you are following because I don’t think that’s a sensible rule for most people if you mean that you’re not allowed anything to eat at all. It’s a particularly difficult one because it is quite normal to get hungry mid-afternoon especially if you have had a lunch with a lot of carbohydrates and not much in the way of fat and protein. It’s the time when low blood sugar tends to hit and we feel in need of a boost to raise our flagging energy.

In my program I would advise you to have a light healthy snack mid-afternoon to keep you going until dinner if (and only if) you are physically hungry. If you do this it means that you are more likely to

a) make sensible choices for dinner
b) have the energy to prepare and cook something
c) keep your metabolism ticking over

Now if the problem is that you are not eating for hunger but are falling prey to the proximity of the chocolate machine or the cookie jar that’s another matter…

For this willpower IS required…a few things which might help - maybe others can suggest more things which help them

1. have a healthier snack on hand and ready-prepared so that you less likely to succumb if you get hungry/need a boost
2. avoid having unhealthy foods to tempt you at home (or keep them well out of the way and out of sight) and avoid the area with the chocolate machines at work
3. keep a record of how often you manage to resist (e.g. a chart with stars or ticks) and reward yourself when you reach 100 with something you really want but are willing to deny yourself until you earn it
4. make yourself pay a forfeit whenever you give into the urge - money to a charity you don’t like, having to walk off all the calories you ate after dinner etc