How to make the changes

You don't have to make the change all at once.
I love it when people wake up one day and say, "That's it. No sugar, pasta, bread, alcohol. I'm going to work out 18 hours a week, and no more fun." I wonder if it occurs to them that this approach may be one of the reasons they don't make it to the second week. Granted, for a small percentage of individuals out there, this works. However, for the rest of us flesh and blood humans, change is difficult. I don;t know about you all, but when I make these radical changes I can't keep them up. So what is the way to do it?
How about we approach the change with a slow and steady strategy?
1.Write down what changes you want to make in your day-to-day lifestyle.
2.Make a list of foods that you can't live without and foods that you are willing to give up.
3.Figure out what forms of exercise are attractive to you, that you relate to, and that you can see yourself participating in on a regular basis.
4. Create some goals.
--lose weight
--have more energy
--exercise 3-4 times a week
--go out and do something fun just for you once a week
--read more
--laugh with your family
--be more spontaneous
--take that risk you have been contemplating
OK, you get my point. These are just ideas, but make it your own list.
This I can handle. I need a journal, okay will this blog work, to write it all down, to make notes and to challenge myself daily to be accountable to what I have done today and what I should be doing.
After you've written all of this information down, start to create your strategy. If you can't live without pasta, then start slow. Don't go cold turkey but try to eat it less often. If you eat it three times a week, then make a vow to only eat it once. You could even begin by "substituting" healthier alternatives (e.g., rice pasta). If you can't live without five diet sodas a day, switch to an unsweetened tea and only have one soda a day.
Are you sedentary right now? Well don't start hitting the gym 5 days a week and kill yourself. Begin with walking and doing little things at home with light weights, and then start heading to the gym. Start by taking a few classes and lifting 2 times a week. You don't need to begin by going 2 hours a day -- start with 30 minutes.
How does that sound? I know you can make the changes. Just have a real plan to support you while going through the process. I like the idea of keeping a journal and writing it all down.
If you are up for it, you could even create a calendar to keep track of all of the changes --what activities you're doing, what foods you are or aren't eating. This way, the change will not only become obvious in you, but you'll be able to track how far you've come. I really think this can work. I think I can do it this time around, with the support, small steps and God's help I am going to make it, once and for all I am going to have a healthy lifestyle.
I found the advice in red on a website, and now I can't find it again! UGH! Don;t you hate that, but I had copied it so that I could print it out and work on it at home, and then I realized that i needed to add it here, so you all will understand the small goals and where it all comes from and the process behind the whole thing, because if you don't understand the process then how is it going to encourage anyone!