Let's face it, choosing between a donut and a diet is a matter of motivation. Want to live healthy, feel better and enjoy life, or satisfy a short-term desire to chomp on foods that are a waste and end up on your waist. Dr. Daniel Amen says to make lasting progress, you must know what's motivating you to adjust your lifestyle into a healthy one.
"For me, I have an amazing wife, four wonderful children, and a new grandson, Elias. My grandfather was one of the most important people in my whole life. I was named after him and he was my best friend growing up. I know how important grandparents can be.
"The day Elias was born I thought about my grandfather all day long. I WANT to be healthy to be able to love Elias like my grandfather loved me. When I really think about what's important to me, no amount of cheeseburgers, sodas, or double fudge chocolate chip brownies is worth the price of damaging my health and stealing the time I have with my family."
Below Dr. Amen shares helpful tips to maintaining your motivation through The Daniel Plan.
- Read your One Page Miracle everyday.
- Encourage others.
Every time you do that it reminds you to encourage yourself to do the right thing.
- Memorize the Bible verse:
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body," (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Do I treat my body as God's temple or as the bad part of town?
- Realize that your behavior models behavior for those you love. Who do you want to influence? Is your health behaviors positive or negative?
- Define what is your specific motivation to change?
Write it down and put it where you can see it every day. Be positive. You have to focus on your motivation, or food will control you.
Motivators might include:
- "I want to live long."
- "I want to have great energy."
- "I want to look great."
- "I want to feel better."
- "I want to have better relationships."
- "I want to be happier and smarter for the long run."
- Have hope.
Hope is what makes you believe that you can change and that your weight, and your life, will be better if you succeed in giving up your bad habits. Without it, you will never take that first step to change or be able to follow a program long enough to create lasting weight loss.
How do you find that hope? Sometimes it can be generated by someone you respect—a teacher, a pastor, a doctor, or an author. My hope is that The Daniel Plan will motivate you to get healthy and stay healthy.
What are the things that fill you with hope? Create a list of people, books, songs, and anything else that makes you feel hopeful about your ability to change your ways.
- Post inspiring photos.
If your motivation is like mine and it involves the people you love put up their pictures where you can see them every day.