Negative Thinking and Weight Loss - Why This Is As Bad As a Donut

You arrive at the office, and the day has been a bad start already. You have missed your train, you have forgotten your phone, and to make matters worse, you forgot about the 9am meeting with the executive team.

Ouch! So, off to the office coffee area for a little motivation, and what is there? Darn it, a beautiful box of donuts! This is a real moment of crisis for many.

OK, this is a brief moment in time, and you can think of this in two ways. In a negative fashion, with the following train of thought:

1. Whatever, it is only a donut, right?
2. It's a bad day already, so what does it matter.
3. I need a pick me up, and the diet I am on is not working anyway.
4. I am going to be fat, and who cares?

Stop! This train of thought has not brought you anything in the past. The excuses, and the failed reasons to eat that donut have only rewarded you with a full-blown sugar hangover in about an hour. Then, your negative thought pattern will set in again, and will bring you into another temptation path.

At lunch, you find yourself so hungry you could eat a horse! Forget that your pants are hurting you, that your budda belly is really much bigger than you can remember, or that your weight loss plan weigh in is tomorrow. You are going out for lunch, and it is going to be something you need soon.

You get to the fast food place, order the best deal on the menu, and get the fries too. You are really going to enjoy this. You eat your meal in break-neck speed, and walk out feeling down, depressed and angry at your self.

This cycle continues until you can motivate yourself into a positive frame of mind.

So, what would that positive thought path look like? Let's go back to the donut in the box decision. There you are, in front of the donuts. Your positive train of thought would be something like this:

1. I have had a bad day, but that is changing right now, at this moment!
2. I am excited for my weigh-in tomorrow, because I am going to be happy with my results.
3. The donut is not going to make me happy, only I can do that.
4. I am going to be thin, and I can't wait to buy new clothes!

See the difference? Even if you eat the donut, your positive thought process will lead you forward in a great direction. You will rethink your lunch destination. You may have a sugar hangover at 10am, but, your have the motivation to work through this hurdle.

If you eat the donut, you will have more of a hurdle to jump at lunchtime. Your insulin spike will have compromised your weight loss plan initiatives, but, with positive thinking, you can jump into a healthy lunchtime choice.

So, who's for a sunny day setting, and a great veggie salad? Stay positive, stay focused, and don't let anything get you down. The way to motivate forward is all up to you.