Once you’ve gotten clarity on your weight loss goal (really this works for any goal you design) it is important to anchor the goal by setting up one or two non-negotiables with yourself.
Non-negs are agreements set in place that you will not back down on. ever.
In your life you have a few of these already. They are probably unwritten-unspoken-but-definitely-absolutes.
Wondering what they might be? Will you go two days without brushing your teeth or showering?
How about dating someone younger/older/shorter/taller/bald/with kids/without kids?
And then there is food….will you go to Mcdonalds/Chammps/Kentucky Fried chicken/spend $50 on a meal/drink-soda-liquor-tea-coffee-beer/if so how much/will you fast/juice/skip meals/eat dessert first/do you consume meat/dairy/veggies/fruit/what kinds will you or won’t you/how about buy organic/non-organic/packaged/sweetened with corn syrup/canned?
You get what I am saying? Some of those things you were thinking…no way. Others you were thinking..so what. no.big.deal.
The “no ways” are your non-negs. When going after goals, you need this attitude to support you because no.big.deal. is going to get you no.where.fast.
In order to realize your goal some of your current behaviors need to shift (if they didn’t you would already have it. Make sense?) and in order to shift them you must create some new non-negs for yourself.
So how do you set these up?
Figure out the one or two behaviors that are preventing your success and flip them inside out.
Here’s some examples…
A. I want to lose weight 15 lbs but I am busy. Every day I rush out the door and don’t eat anything and by lunch time I am ravenous and make really poor choices + I over eat.
Solution: Set up a non-neg that you eat something before 10am. No matter what you eat breakfast. Write it down. Follow it.
B. I want to lose 30 lbs and I follow my food plan great all day, but in the evening I give in and treat myself to chocolate/icecream/popcorn/whatever.
Solution: Set up a non-neg that you will only drink herbal tea after 7pm. No matter what you only get tea. Write it down. Follow it.
It might seem obvious but write it down and then follow it. Equally important is that you only put in place one and no more than two non-negs at a time.
Once they get easy —-like as easy as brushing your teeth or showering—-you can start to play with some new ones.
Feel free to make other shifts and alterations to your behavior at the same time, but don’t make them non-negs until after you’ve gotten down the one or two you are working on!
Okay. Time to fess up.
What is one non-neg you already know you have in your life?
And what is one you are ready to put in place to help you reach your current goal. Leave a comment below. It gives ya some great accountability.
i have started going to the gym at least 5 times a week…some days i even do two workouts! the non-neg that i am trying to put in place is only having beer on certain days…i REALLY struggle with sticking to it…do you have any ideas for me? maybe just putting a limit on how many beers i can have? please HELP!
Okay. So you need to set up something you will stick to. Remember it is a non-neg. You can build it up over time so you don’t need to start with anything crazy. Start with picking the days you WON’T have beer. You can work on choosing to limit your intake on other days, but pick 2 days you’ll have no beer.
For example: Tuesday and Thursday are NO beer days. Meaning…NO BEER.AT.ALL.
On other days you can choose to have 1 or 2 beers and work on having less of the extra beer calories by drinking less beer…but stick with your Tuesday/Thursday rule of NO BEER.AT.ALL.
When you follow through on the non-neg you will build your integrity, feel better, and rapidly move in the direction of your dreams!
Let me know how this works!
I love what you wrote … it is so practical and really could be quite easy. I am going to try the tea only after 7 pm Monday thru Friday. I would love to have you check in with me to see how it is going … having said that what would you suggest if I wake up in the middle of the night hungry … Oh yea, I bet you would suggest for me just to have tea. 😉
If you can’t get back to sleep without a bit of food have some protein. Otherwise, try not to eat in the middle of the night, it disruptes your body’s rest/recovery process.