I thought I would share this with all my WISH friends. 
The No. 1 Reason Diets Fail
By Julia Havey
eDiets Master Motivator
The number one reason diets fail -- the scale! Thats right! S.C.A.L.E. is to be blamed for all of your past diet failures. You may be thinking that I am referring to a typical bathroom scale, but no, my friends, this is something much greater than just a bathroom scale!
I would like to ask you to imagine the character of Maxwell Smart, the great secret "intelligence" special agent from the old Get Smart sitcom. If you have ever seen the show, you can picture him going from the phone booth, down the long hall, down the longer hall and finally entering the headquarters for the Control agency -- like the CIA, only much sillier! "KAOS" and "CONTROL" are not acronyms. They don't mean anything. Think of it like this: there would be "chaos" in an evil world. A good world is where evil is "controlled." Agent Smarts sidekick was agent "99."
Well, in our weight loss world, the similarities are uncanny (OK, and a bit silly, too)! Our sidekick or constant companion is a number! Those of us on a diet are constantly obsessing over numbers "how much weight did I lose this week" or "I cant believe I weigh this much!"
Well, like in the TV world of Maxwell Smart, I think there will be much chaos if we dont control the evil that is controlling us! Thats right -- controlling us! This evil force is strong enough to ruin an otherwise wonderful day, make us angry, make us sad and even set off an eating spree that would send any scales numbers soaring.
What is this evil force? It is S.C.A.L.E., Sinister Contraption Allowing Lapsed Ego!
We were having a conversation in my eDiets online meeting (another great benefit of being an eDiets "special agent!") about how the scale holds such power over us. I think it is power that is seriously misplaced! My lovely sidekick in the chats -- Louise -- came up with the above acronym. I laughed at the image of the sinister scale wearing an eye patch, a raincoat and fedora! Now, it wouldnt seem so awesome and powerful dressed up that way, would it? Well, whatever visual you have to give it to take back the control it has over you, do it!
The scale, while effective at giving an accurate measure of your body weight, is very ineffective at gauging your progress!
How can I possibly say such a horrific statement! Think about it this way -- how many times have you gone on a diet to lose weight and then once youve lost weight and were at your "goal weight" did you regain your weight? Is that a successful weight loss journey? I dont think so!
Or what about the popular offline weight watching organization that proclaims you a "lifer" or a lifetime member once you reach your goal weight? You would be surprised to find out that most of their lifers regained their weight, too! It seems the only lifers that stick with their lifelong sentence are those on death row.
Obesity is the leading cause of preventable death in America, but I dont think we want to sentence ourselves to being a lifer, do we? Rather, lets take control back from the thing that most hinders our permanently solving this problem -- the scale!
From this day forward, I want you to be intelligent agents fighting this sinister beast. KNOW that it matters far more:
1. What actions you are taking to improve your health
2. What permanent changes you are making that will have a positive effect on your health
3. What vices you are busting
4. How much your attitude is improving
5. How your clothes are fitting
6. How your body is responding to working out
7. How much water you are drinking
8. How much your self-confidence is growing
9. What compliments people are saying about the new you
10. What you are learning about proper nutrition
11. How positive you are about your future
12. How much your life is changing
Than:
1. How much the scale says you lost this week
The goal of your journey must not be to lose weight -- rather it must be to improve your health and the quality of your life. You adopt that mindset and not only will you defeat S.C.A.L.E. but you will lose weight! What a nice side effect!
However, if you allow S.C.A.L.E. to control you, your journey is doomed. Letting the scale be your live/die-by measure of success is bad. Each time you weigh in and dont see the numbers you think you should see, or want to see (despite the fact that you made healthy choices and lived a healthy lifestyle for the entire week prior) you will feel like you failed. And that is just bad.
So, your choice: are you with the good guys? Or the bad guys?
Email Julia with your comments at julia@juliahavey.com. You can also chat with Julia on her eDiets support board -- Take It Off With Julia. Or, you can also visit her website at www.JuliaHavey.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: You've seen Julia on the QVC home shopping network and The Sally Jesse Raphael show. She's been called "America's weight-loss Cinderella, someone with the passion of Tony Robbins, enthusiasm of Richard Simmons and the humor of Jerry Seinfeld." To get your copy of Julia's blockbuster motivational book, Awaken the Diet Within, From Overweight to Looking Great -- If I Can Do It, So Can You! click here.
For more inspiration, check out Julia's LifeChanger program.
The No. 1 Reason Diets Fail
By Julia Havey
eDiets Master Motivator
The number one reason diets fail -- the scale! Thats right! S.C.A.L.E. is to be blamed for all of your past diet failures. You may be thinking that I am referring to a typical bathroom scale, but no, my friends, this is something much greater than just a bathroom scale!
I would like to ask you to imagine the character of Maxwell Smart, the great secret "intelligence" special agent from the old Get Smart sitcom. If you have ever seen the show, you can picture him going from the phone booth, down the long hall, down the longer hall and finally entering the headquarters for the Control agency -- like the CIA, only much sillier! "KAOS" and "CONTROL" are not acronyms. They don't mean anything. Think of it like this: there would be "chaos" in an evil world. A good world is where evil is "controlled." Agent Smarts sidekick was agent "99."
Well, in our weight loss world, the similarities are uncanny (OK, and a bit silly, too)! Our sidekick or constant companion is a number! Those of us on a diet are constantly obsessing over numbers "how much weight did I lose this week" or "I cant believe I weigh this much!"
Well, like in the TV world of Maxwell Smart, I think there will be much chaos if we dont control the evil that is controlling us! Thats right -- controlling us! This evil force is strong enough to ruin an otherwise wonderful day, make us angry, make us sad and even set off an eating spree that would send any scales numbers soaring.
What is this evil force? It is S.C.A.L.E., Sinister Contraption Allowing Lapsed Ego!
We were having a conversation in my eDiets online meeting (another great benefit of being an eDiets "special agent!") about how the scale holds such power over us. I think it is power that is seriously misplaced! My lovely sidekick in the chats -- Louise -- came up with the above acronym. I laughed at the image of the sinister scale wearing an eye patch, a raincoat and fedora! Now, it wouldnt seem so awesome and powerful dressed up that way, would it? Well, whatever visual you have to give it to take back the control it has over you, do it!
The scale, while effective at giving an accurate measure of your body weight, is very ineffective at gauging your progress!
How can I possibly say such a horrific statement! Think about it this way -- how many times have you gone on a diet to lose weight and then once youve lost weight and were at your "goal weight" did you regain your weight? Is that a successful weight loss journey? I dont think so!
Or what about the popular offline weight watching organization that proclaims you a "lifer" or a lifetime member once you reach your goal weight? You would be surprised to find out that most of their lifers regained their weight, too! It seems the only lifers that stick with their lifelong sentence are those on death row.
Obesity is the leading cause of preventable death in America, but I dont think we want to sentence ourselves to being a lifer, do we? Rather, lets take control back from the thing that most hinders our permanently solving this problem -- the scale!
From this day forward, I want you to be intelligent agents fighting this sinister beast. KNOW that it matters far more:
1. What actions you are taking to improve your health
2. What permanent changes you are making that will have a positive effect on your health
3. What vices you are busting
4. How much your attitude is improving
5. How your clothes are fitting
6. How your body is responding to working out
7. How much water you are drinking
8. How much your self-confidence is growing
9. What compliments people are saying about the new you
10. What you are learning about proper nutrition
11. How positive you are about your future
12. How much your life is changing
Than:
1. How much the scale says you lost this week
The goal of your journey must not be to lose weight -- rather it must be to improve your health and the quality of your life. You adopt that mindset and not only will you defeat S.C.A.L.E. but you will lose weight! What a nice side effect!
However, if you allow S.C.A.L.E. to control you, your journey is doomed. Letting the scale be your live/die-by measure of success is bad. Each time you weigh in and dont see the numbers you think you should see, or want to see (despite the fact that you made healthy choices and lived a healthy lifestyle for the entire week prior) you will feel like you failed. And that is just bad.
So, your choice: are you with the good guys? Or the bad guys?
Email Julia with your comments at julia@juliahavey.com. You can also chat with Julia on her eDiets support board -- Take It Off With Julia. Or, you can also visit her website at www.JuliaHavey.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: You've seen Julia on the QVC home shopping network and The Sally Jesse Raphael show. She's been called "America's weight-loss Cinderella, someone with the passion of Tony Robbins, enthusiasm of Richard Simmons and the humor of Jerry Seinfeld." To get your copy of Julia's blockbuster motivational book, Awaken the Diet Within, From Overweight to Looking Great -- If I Can Do It, So Can You! click here.
For more inspiration, check out Julia's LifeChanger program.
