Preparation...Time to Go Public!

As we keep moving through the stages of change this spring, this thursday I explained the important stage of PREPARATION!  As any good boy scout will tell you, being prepared readies you for action.  So before we move into the action stage of change, we've got to spend some time making final adjustments... preparation!

One of the most important things we can do to insure that we have success in the action stage and beyond, is to "go public." Telling people closest to you and even those you're acquainted with, that you've made a DECISION to change, holds you to a level of accountability that sets you up to have great success. Going public can be uncomfortable because of past failures or the fear of failing in the future, but it's necessary for real change!

I also encouraged massive ACTION in the preparation stage.  Once the DECISION was made in the contemplation stage, action should flow out of that decision. Preparing food in advance, emptying your house of inappropriate food and drink, investing in products that will make the weight loss journey easier, paying attention to the people you hang out with, the places you go, and the things you do, will guarantee success in the action stage!

If you're serious about CHANGE, the preparation stage is crucial. The desire to shortcut preparation and leap into action prematurely is a common problem, but premature action usually leads to ineffective change!  In the preparation stage we begin to do two things:

1. Turn away from old behavior and let go of the past.

2. Make change a priority!

As with every stage of change, continuing to take inventory of your emotions, your attitude, your mental health and thought life is on going and crucial to any kind of change. I introduced my CD series to help these self-changers do just that.

Your Challenges for the week:

• Go to www.healthyweigh.com and  click on STORE. Download the first lesson, "Understanding Your Beliefs ~ The Key to Permanent Weight Loss" and do the homework provided.
• Go Public!
• An Extra Challenge for the week: (From Glenda) Use your non-dominant hand to eat this week. Bringing awareness to mindful eating vs. mindless eating.

Congratulations to the individuals and teams who had such great weight loss this week.

Our winning teams for the week were...

Noon: Team "Waist A-Weigh" Larry and Dale with a 2.04% of weight loss for the week.

6PM: Team "Tiny Hinys" Janie and Abbie with a 2.07% of weight loss!

Our individual HEART winner this week was Guy C. with a 3.61 % of weight loss for the week.

I'm thrilled for all the self changers that are taking these stages of change to heart and learning what it takes to change permanently! We are moving into the action stage next week so things are going to start heating up!   What do YOU want to accomplish in the next 6 weeks?  YOU DECIDE!!!

Always encouraging you,

Letha