Motivational

Anthony Robbins is a great motivational speaker and in this video he talks about the mindset required to achieve progress in your goals. He stresses the importance of creating a compelling vision of what you want to achieve, the role of daily review and why standards should be raised. Through this blog I am already engaging in daily review of my weight loss journey. It allows me to reflect on my eating during the day and think about the choices I make and it keeps me accountable to myself. I find that even after less than three weeks of entries, I can look back over it and marvel at my progress, resisting the urges I have to falter. It spurs me on.

He also gives you some homework, which I shall do now.

Step 1: Select an area of your life you would like to improve and describe what that area is like for you currently. Be specific.

I am morbidly obese, weighing over 170 kilograms. I'm 34 years old and I am genuinely fearful for my health. Such a level of obesity is socially isolating. I'm not outgoing, even though I want to be. I don't feel attractive to women and so I am very shy about trying to start any kind of romantic relationship. I don't feel good about my body and I am limited in the things I want to do. I can't shop for clothes in normal shops, I have to order them online. Travel anywhere - be it by plane or by bus is a major logistical nightmare and a cause for embarrassment. I feel flawed.

Step 2: Write down the rituals that have shaped your current conditions in this area. Be honest.

I accepted my obesity very early in my life. I remember being taken to a dietician when I was in primary school. I remember my mother telling me what I must and mustn't eat and yet she baked fattening biscuits and cakes. Vegetables, while they did reach the dinner table, were unappealing. The smell repulsed me, the texture disgusted me and I avoided eating better food, then sating my hunger with toast or biscuits or whatever was bad. Somewhere along the line it was no longer about hunger, it was about habit and the endorphins that were released when I binged. I remember schoolkids taunting me about my weight. I remember the nickname "Sumo" in high school and I accepted being fat was my thing. When I finished high school I must have weighed over 125 kg, I have no idea exactly - the household scales didn't go that high. I continued to find comfort and convenience in junk food.

So to sum up: I accepted myself as a fat person and used unhealthy food as an emotional crutch.

Step 3: Write down what you want. What's your compelling vision? Be specific.

I want to feel attractive. I want to fall in love and start a family. I want to live a long and healthy life. I want to travel and see the world. I want to use my body to live a fulfilling life. I want to be noticed for my inherent qualities, not the adipose tissue I carry.

Step 4: Write down the rituals that will get you your compelling vision. What would you need to do differently each day to get what you want?

• Be mindful when it comes to food. Ask myself - do I want to eat this for energy, or do I want to eat this because it feels good?
• Plan my meals, eat like an eighty kilogram man, not a 170 kg one.
• Reflect on how I've done every day. Maintain this blog, even if entries are very brief. Keep this goal at the forefront of my mind.
• Consider exercise if I plateau. Weight loss as a whole is a marathon, not a sprint.
• Be proud of my achievements along the way.
• Pick myself up if I falter.