“What you do is secondary. How you do it is primary.. -Eckhart Tolle

When it comes to a true lifestyle change this quote hits it on the head. The difference between lasting change and temporary action as just a means to an end (diet) is whether or not we have embraced and accepted what we are doing as part of who we are now. We behave in these healthier ways because it is who we want to be and how we want to live. If you pay attention you can see the difference in yourself and in others. Just because weight loss occurs, does not necessarily mean we are changing how we think about what we are doing. You might think “Who cares what I ‘think’! If the weight is coming off doing what I’m doing , then what difference does it make?” The difference is in the long haul. Most of us have lost weight before, but this time we want to do it in a way that allows us to participate fully in our lives (meeting friends for lunch, dining out, going to parties, wine, eating with our families and eating what they eat if we chose, chocolate, birthday cake, etc., etc!))AND keep it off. It all boils down to our attitude and how we are perceiving this stage in our lives. Hopefully we realize that we are doing this because we want to, it’s worth it and it actually feels good (when we stop complaining and notice it!). When we adopt this real life attitude, we are no longer so fragile that a weight gain on the scale or an eating slip up crushes our spirit and we want to “quit”. Quitting isn’t an option but neither is living in misery or deprivation. Now is our time to make peace with this and start really enjoying the process. Surround yourself with positive energy and you can’t help but feel good today!!