Initiate Change in Two Weeks: The Magic Number in Weight Loss
Gail Davis
July 15, 2008
Are you having trouble finding the motivation to make a change in your diet and fitness level? Amazing things can happen in just two weeks! I can hear you now… "Two weeks isn´t enough time to lose the weight I want to lose!" Well, whether you want to lose five pounds or fifty pounds, everything important happens in that first two weeks!
Two weeks is the maximum amount of time that I believe you can make yourself do something, without motivation, on sheer will alone! Of those first two weeks, the first day is the most crucial!
How many times have you planned to make a change tomorrow and kept putting it off when the scheduled date arrived? "I´ll diet tomorrow," or "I´ll go to the gym tomorrow," must be two of the most poorly executed phrases in our language. So to begin, you must first power through that very first day. You need to wake up and review all the reasons that you need to make a change in your life, before your feet even hit the floor! Use those reasons to get yourself into your workout clothes and out the door!
Once you get through the first day, you´ve won half the battle. The next half is making it through the first two weeks. So often people wish for motivation to diet or exercise, so that they can start a program. They behave as if motivation is some magic spell won in a diet and exercise lottery.
Instead, I say, "Start, and the motivation will come!" I´m a firm believer that people can power through on sheer will for about fourteen days. It´s a matter of getting up each day and not accepting anything less than "getting it done." After you´ve dieted and exercised for two weeks, you´re going to notice some fairly significant changes.
One change you´ll notice is that your skin looks better and your face isn´t so puffy. You´ll notice that your eyes look clearer and wider. Your rings will be a little looser and you may have to use a different hole in your belt. Your scale will start to show some progress as well!
At that point, motivation kicks in full-force! You have just won that magic lottery! Achieving a little success will make your motivation explode! Because success breeds success, you´ll be on your way to making a change and reaching your weight loss and fitness goals.
So, if you want to make a change in your life, but you´re having trouble getting started, make yourself give it two weeks. Those could very well be the most important two weeks of your life.
Two weeks is the maximum amount of time that I believe you can make yourself do something, without motivation, on sheer will alone! Of those first two weeks, the first day is the most crucial!
How many times have you planned to make a change tomorrow and kept putting it off when the scheduled date arrived? "I´ll diet tomorrow," or "I´ll go to the gym tomorrow," must be two of the most poorly executed phrases in our language. So to begin, you must first power through that very first day. You need to wake up and review all the reasons that you need to make a change in your life, before your feet even hit the floor! Use those reasons to get yourself into your workout clothes and out the door!
Once you get through the first day, you´ve won half the battle. The next half is making it through the first two weeks. So often people wish for motivation to diet or exercise, so that they can start a program. They behave as if motivation is some magic spell won in a diet and exercise lottery.
Instead, I say, "Start, and the motivation will come!" I´m a firm believer that people can power through on sheer will for about fourteen days. It´s a matter of getting up each day and not accepting anything less than "getting it done." After you´ve dieted and exercised for two weeks, you´re going to notice some fairly significant changes.
One change you´ll notice is that your skin looks better and your face isn´t so puffy. You´ll notice that your eyes look clearer and wider. Your rings will be a little looser and you may have to use a different hole in your belt. Your scale will start to show some progress as well!
At that point, motivation kicks in full-force! You have just won that magic lottery! Achieving a little success will make your motivation explode! Because success breeds success, you´ll be on your way to making a change and reaching your weight loss and fitness goals.
So, if you want to make a change in your life, but you´re having trouble getting started, make yourself give it two weeks. Those could very well be the most important two weeks of your life.