TO YOURSELF BE TRUE!

Firstly, let me say a big hello and thank you to all of you out there who read my blog. Some of you I know, my family and friends, but many of you I have never met.

When I first started writing this blog it was a way that I could express what was in my head. A way for me to see in writing just what my thoughts were.

I shared the link on Facebook, but never suspected that I would end up with so many people around the world reading it. I have never been one for statistics but since the beginning I have had 1754 page views from ten different countries. To me this is absolutely mind-blowing, but for whatever reasons you read this, thank you. It gives value to the way I feel and I hope it helps you and gives you pleasure to read it.

We all have had things we wanted to change in our lives, and as my regular readers will know by now mine is the state of my health and my weight.  

Any change that you consider important must be a long term change, so it is up to us to change our state of mind accordingly.

I started to look at conventional slimming methods, and I was surprised to discover that in 2012 there were 27 million people in the UK on a weight loss diet at some point that year. There were roughly 60.3 million people in the country at the time, so that is well over one third of the population on a diet. I found that figure quite astonishing, although I shouldn't. It's the norm, it is what we do just before Christmas, just after Christmas, before we go on holiday, etc. etc.

If we only have a few pounds to lose, which ever way we do it, if it makes us feel better there's nothing wrong with that. For those of us that have a lot to lose or find it a problem, it can be a different story.

There have been slimming clubs in this country since the early 1960s and they have helped so many people, but for some like me they were only a short term solution. 

To learn what to eat in a way that will help us to  lose weight is great,but is it the complete answer? 

Since 1954, when food rationing imposed by the Second World War finally ended, we have had more and more different foods to eat and enjoy. We have also had the introduction of numerous labour saving devices to make our lives so much "easier". 

But with this, it seemed came weight gains and the desire to be thin. We could diet, we could exercise, and we'd be happy ever after!

Give one hundred people the same diet to follow word for word and I wonder how many would succeed in the long run?

Anything that is going to be long term needs to fit into your lifestyle. If that's following a particular diet and going to the gym, that's good. If it isn't, don't panic. You haven't failed. You are an individual and nobody knows you like you do. What works for one person, won't work for everyone.

I am beginning to think that learning to change your life should include a chapter on learning to change your mind set.

You need to start to think "OK, I will follow the guide lines, but what will work for ME, the individual?"

If you don't like the gym, but love to dance or love a long walk, there is nothing wrong with that.

You don't always have to conform. Guidelines are great, but freedom to be who we are can help in the long term. Be yourself, find your own path to success.