It's almost day one! What's your plan?

I'm sure you've heard that "failure to plan is planning to fail."  That's because it is true! To get ready for this DietBet, I recommend you do a few things to get yourself set up for success!

1. Know your goal.  How much weight do you have to lose, to lose 4%? I haven't done my offical weigh-in (that's on tap for tomorrow morning), but my last weigh-in was 180.  180 x .04 = 7.2 So in order to win this DietBet, I need to lose 7.2 pounds. For 28 days, that means I need to lose about .26 pounds per day (just under 2 per week).

2. Identify your challenges.  Planning ahead means knowing what your challenges will be.  For some people, that might mean looking through the pantry and tossing the Oreos.  For me, that means looking at my calendar. I'm attending four days of a deposition starting on the very first day of this DietBet, and that office provides free doughnuts (which I love). I need to make a plan of attack, in advance, on how I'm going to avoid eating a doughnut every day.  Will I eat half? One for the week? None? Should I pack a tastier healthy breakfast? This is the difference between failure and success: I've got to have a plan.

3. Make it long term AND allow a little fun. I hate the word "diet." To most people, "diet" means "a temporary restrictive eating plan I'll only stick to until I lose the weight."  The problem is that once you revert to old eating habits, you'll pack the weight back on. (If you do what you have always done, you will get the results that you have always gotten!) To avoid this, you need to do two things. One, choose habits you can live with forever.  A "rule" that dessert is never okay is NOT sustainable! Two, allow a little fun. If you never get to have chocolate, one day the chocolate monster will break loose and you'll eat the entire Costco-sized bag of M&Ms. That's not cool.  Me, I'm going on my very first cruise during the tail end of this DietBet. I don't intend to deprive myself of anything, but I also plan to NOT indulge in the unlimited drinks and desserts.

4. Figure out what prep you need for the first week. I have a demanding day job. To make this work, I'm going to have to get serious about planning my breakfasts and packing my lunches.  Tonight I'm scheduling my workouts (and washing the coffee pot--when I make a mocha at home instead of going to Starbucks, I can control what is in it, and ensure it is healthier and lower in calories).

You have one full day left until the DietBet is on. What is your goal? What are your challenges? What prep do you need to do?

 

Follow me on Twitter @TrainWithBain and check out my blog at http://www.TrainWithBain.com Let's stay positive and support each other.