OK. Where are we now on this book we’re writing?

·        We know our reasons and motivations for losing weight.

·        We’ve explored our overall philosophy about “diets”.

·        I’ve decided to not waste my money or risk my health on “weight loss wonder” products. How about you?

Now it’s time to take action. Think of something you would like to do that will bring you one step closer to your goal of losing weight. I’ve decided that my first step will be keeping a food journal.

The National Inst. of Health described a study that found people who kept food journals lost nearly twice as much weight as the people in the study who didn’t keep records.

So, here’s my written plan: I will record my breakfast right after I eat it every day this week. I’ll put a check mark on my calendar each time I record my breakfast.

Notice I did not plan to write down everything I eat in my food journal this week. Even though it seems like it shouldn’t be so hard to write down everything, I know from past experience that I can’t be sure I would be able to do that.

It’s important to plan an action step that you are pretty darn sure you can accomplish. It should be challenging, but definitely something you can count on yourself to do.

Know that it is important to honor your commitments to yourself. Even if you have to start with baby steps, stick to your plan and keep taking those baby steps, one after another, until you reach your goal.