If you have a voice in your head creating doubt about your ability to succeed at your diet, you’re not alone. Those of us who have repeatedly tried and failed to achieve permanent weight loss can easily find ourselves beset with doubts. Those fears can insidiously undermine our progress. To move on, we have to beat back the 5 big ones:
Fear #1: Will this really work or will I just end up gaining more weight?
Before I became a Fat-Burning Machine, my long-term diet history was not good. The pattern was always the same: I went on a diet and changed my eating habits. I had some short-term success and lost some weight. But when I returned to my old eating habits, not only did I gain back the weight I’d lost, I ended up weighing more than before I started. This pattern stopped when I became a Fat-Burning Machine, because finally I had found a sustainable way of eating and living. Once I flipped the switch and started eating fat-burning foods and stopped eating fat-storing foods, the weight never came back. Today I weigh the same as I did in high school—thirty years ago! I never went back to my old eating habits because I didn’t want or need to. I was satisfied, full of energy and happy. Why change that?
Fear #2: Am I going to be hungry?
I do not like to be hungry. It is so debilitating and just slows me down. I can’t think straight when I am hungry. I make bad decisions—and not just about food. I make bad life decisions. One the main tenets of being a Fat-Burning Machine is not be hungry. Ever. The whole point is to anticipate hunger. I eat throughout the day. I love my between meal snack—such as Greek yogurt, hummus, avocados. And the meals that I do eat have just the right balance of fats and proteins to keep my Fat-Burning Machine going strong and my appetite suppressed.
Fear #3: Will I fail if I don’t exercise enough?
I would love to pinpoint the moment in history when a good exercise program became judged by its extreme intensity and length. I wonder how many people actually sabotage their workouts by working out too hard, too long, or just doing the wrong stuff?
Being a Fat-Burning Machine means combining fat-burning foods and the RIGHT fitness to keep your fat-burning switched on. The right fitness may mean walking 10 steps faster than you usually do; it could mean jogging harder for 30 seconds and resting for 3 minutes and 30 seconds; it could mean biking a little harder for a minute and then riding normal for 4 minutes. Your choice. And it includes Miracle Intervals. But it never means that you must exercise more than a 30 minute workout 2 or 3 times a week.
Fear #4: Will the diet put me in a bad mood?
Before I became a Fat-Burning Machine, every time I went on a diet, I would always be in such a bad mood. I was irritable, short-tempered and just not pleasant to be around. My brain felt scrambled and I was definitely low-energy. As a Fat-Burning Machine, my thinking is so clear. I think it’s because I’m sleeping better than ever and my body feels rejuvenated when I wake up in the morning. I no longer have that sugar hangover.
Fear #5: Will I have enough energy to do the things that I like?
It used to be that whenever I went on a diet, I no longer had the energy to do the things I liked to do. I would simply run out of gas after an hour or so. Then I’d eat more to wake myself up and end up feeling even worse. When I became a Fat-Burning Machine, the energy came back. My days became longer. The enthusiasm and passion for life returned. I got rid of my chair at work and went to a stand-up desk. Tasks around the house became enjoyable and I suddenly had the time that I wanted to pursue my hobbies and interests. In other words, I started living again.
