As many of you may already know, I have been losing weight for a while now. April 07 will be one year. It’s been a rough patch for me the last few months trying to lose weight. I hit plateaus and found myself stuck for quite a while.

During December I didn’t do so well and even gained back a few pounds! What can I say…unfortunately I am not as of yet perfect, ;-).

I did discover something during the last month that is helping me now more than ever in my weight loss journey. I’m hoping it can help you as well.

We all know what we must do to lose weight. We know we need to eat better, exercise, stay active, etc. It’s no secret that we have more than enough information available to lose weight.

The real hang up comes in applying that information we know in our heads to our own situations. This can seem hard at times because most of us have an emotional connection to food, I know I do. I find eating one of life’s pleasures and really enjoy dining out with friends and family in nice restaurants.

What I discovered recently has TOTALLY changed my mindset and freed me up to take greater control of my eating habits and lifestyle. In a nutshell, what I have done is a sort of psychological trick…only it actually works.

Here’s what to do:

Each of us have certain things we pride ourselves in, areas in our lives we control and feel good about. For me, I am proud that I strive not to be a follower or just part of the crowd. I find myself at times doing things my own way, just because I don’t want to be like everyone else.

I don’t smoke or drink (I’ve never touched a cigarette or had a sip of alcohol) nor have I ever been to clubs or the whole “party scene”.

I was offered a beer last night by my friend’s new roommate and it wasn’t hard at all saying “No thanks.”

Now, if he had offered me certain foods…it would have been another story. I would have had to think about, debate myself, and say “No thanks”.

Why is this? Why is it SO EASY to decline one thing and SO HARD to say no to another?

Both are choices and both involve me making a decision to move forward or stop. After much thought, I have discovered part of my mental make-up and what I can do to control my eating just like other areas of my life.

In America, it is widely (pun?) noted that 2/3 of us are overweight. That’s right, 66% of Americans are overweight. And what does that mean to me? I’m glad you asked!

It means that I, the guy who likes to not follow the crowd, acts just like the masses of people eating what they want, when they want, and with blatant disregard for their own health.

When that hit me, like hopefully it will hit you, something in me changed. I basically took the strongest identity factor I had and instantly made my eating and lifestyle choices incongruent with who I am.

I don’t follow the crowd, I don’t want to be part of the 66%! I have to be different, I have to be “myself”. Do you see how powerful this is?

I challenge you now to “take a think” as our UK buddies say and look for the identity factors in your own life right now that you can use to change your lifestyle habits.

It’s extremely easy for you to do certain things. Maybe you pride yourself on always being honest. You are a VERY honest person. How can this help you lose weight?

Make a mental connection between you being an honest person and your weight loss. If you took an “honest” look at your life right now, are you the person you want to be? Are you being honest with yourself about your current lifestyle?

You see where I’m going with this. What’s your Main Identity Factor? What’s your Mental Make-up? Use these as your new determination and inspiration.

It becomes easy to succeed when you can instantly and almost effortlessly make eating healthy foods, exercising, and living an active life part of what makes you…you!

If you’ve been struggling with the mental aspect of losing weight, I truly believe this will help you. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. This year I want to see us all succeed and I know we can do it.

This is an exciting time of year for many people. The hope for what is yet to come is welling up inside you, and there is an idea of a fresh start, a new beginning if you will. I for one am really glad to be experiencing this moment in history. Really stop and think about it.

We have developed computers, cell phones, PDA’s, Ipods, the Archos, and tons of other really useful tools. With the advent of the internet in it’s current stages, we can now instantly communicate with anyone nearly anywhere in the world. News is literally at our fingertips at any time.

But enough of that! Let’s talk about something important to me. Goal setting. As a matter of fact, I am going to spend a lot more time in 2007 talking about goals, purpose, and accomplishing what you set out to do.

My site has been focused really on 3 different areas:

1) Weight Loss

2) Goal Setting

3) Making More Money

I realize now these topics are pretty far reaching and a bit broad in focus, but I still continue on talking about them from time to time. I will, however, be releasing a new and much better blog talking all about the weight loss aspect of my life.

I hope to have that rolled out very soon, and once I do you’ll be the first to know about it.

I am going to focus a lot more on goal setting this year because I believe it’s the key to achieving anything in life, really. Here are some previous articles to get you started:

Setting Goals For Success
How To Write Goal Statements That Work
How To Set Goals
How To Set New Year’s Resolutions

What are your goals for 2007? What do you hope to accomplish? I am going to finish up my weight loss and make a lot more money working from home. If you haven’t already, definitely read those articles above and get started today.

There is no better time than the New Year to start. I wish you the best and if you need anything don’t hesitate to post it on the comments section.