Sunday, May 13, 2007

Give Yourself Credit


People who struggle with their weight tend to be hard on themselves..The minute they stray from their diets in the smallest ways they just want to "throw in the towel"....We need to focus on the positive things that has lead us to be successful to this point...Like....Did you read your response card today several times...Did you give yourself credit for not having something you would have liked to?... By consciously giving yourself credit, you'll reinforce your self confidence and build an awareness that you're strong and in control..They gave an example of someone that had gone out to eat with a friend...The friend was eating the nice warm bread that was in the bread basket before them.. He kept thinking". "I would love to have a piece of bread, too"..."Boy it smells so good, I just have to have a piece, too"...He finally gave into his temptation of having just one slice of bread. When his food came he ate only half the potato to make up for the slice of nice warm bread that he had eaten. He took a negative response(of eating the bread) and turned it into a positive (eating only half of his potato)..He could have easily just given up after the bread and ate anything he wanted. He should pat himself on the back and say.."boy what a strong person I am") As you learn to turn negatives to positives or as you learn to resist things that aren't in your best interest...you will become stronger and each time will be much easier....
Here are some things you can say to your self..

That was good!
Great!
Good going!
That deserves credit!
Yes!
I did it!
Wow, I'm proud of myself!!!

When you're finished eating, look for ways to give yourself credit for refraining from doing the unhelpful things you're tempted to do..


Make sure you give yourself credit lots of times through the day for every little thing that you to work toward your goal...As you go on sticking to your program, getting right back on when you slip the first time, and most of all, giving yourself credit...You have got to come out a WINNER!!!!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Where did you get this book? I see that it has not been released yet.... help!
Oh, starting tomorrow when I have time to read. Wooo hooo!

Aimee said...

My copy came from Sam's Club. It's available in stores now. I've seen it at Meijer and I'm sure Walmart probably has it too. If you can't find it in stores, you could always order it on the internet at places like amazon.com or even check Ebay. :)

Anonymous said...

thank you so much Aimee, I think I was confused with the workbook. I clicked on it instead of the actual book. When you buy a book like this do you actually write inside it? I always struggle to write in a book! Years of training in school NOT to write in them!!

Aimee said...

No, actually I don't like to mess up a book (you never know, a few years from now I might want to read it again and my answers might be different). So I use a notebook to keep my answers in. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Aimee,
This is an important challenge for me. So, I got one of those clicker-counter thingies. I got it two days ago (and it took some hunting to find it... Gart's were out, finally had to pay double price at Office Depot, but it's worth it!) When I catch myself doing something right, I give my self a click... and 'atta girl'. Put the clicker in my pocket, click, take my vitamins, click, eat breakfast, click,drink water, click, read my BDS chapter, click, read my Advantages Response Card, click,log on here, click, respond to you, click...etc... At the end of the day I'm recording the number of clicks. Hey, it worked to train my Golden Retriever to run on the treadmill, and I'm at least as smart as a Retriever. (oops... I might have to subtract one for that... if it weren't a joke...) Later...
Emily

Anonymous said...

Hi, again...
Forgot to log my entry on my Response card:

Thought: I don’t deserve credit for doing things I should already be doing.
Response: If I don’t give myself credit for essential behaviors, I’ll be less likely to practice these behaviors consistently. I do struggle. I do deserve credit every single time I think about something in a helpful way or engage in helpful behavior. It is essential to build my confidence because I’ll need confidence to get through the harder times.

Aimee, Are you writing Thought-Responses? Care to share? Later...
Emily

Anonymous said...

Tess and Aimee,
Re: writing in books...
The only time I DON'T write in a book is when I think I may re-sell it on Amazon or give it away to the Goodwill. When I re-read a book I've written in, I like to compare my responses. It's one way I measure growth, learning, or at least change. In addition to writing in the books, I will summarize important ideas at the end of a book I've really learned from, and I keep a folder on my computer for "Important Book Ideas". Writing is a major way I learn, so this helps me.