So much of the weight loss self-help literature is about “motivation” and visualization and thinking positive and not losing hope and… and… and… A lot of these plans are very thin on PRACTICAL and USEFUL advice, other than just “Eat less food”. So if the plan is “Eat Less, Move More” and it’s just wrapped in a different flavor of motivation/positive attitude, it is really the same plan and will fail for the same reasons.

For some people, calorie counting works, but most people will ultimately fail. I think counting calories doesn’t help us fix the balance… we are adjusting the overall amount but not the mixture. We are not addressing the root cause of why we are so hungry.

Instead, the diet program vendors want us to believe that we “just” have to eat less and if we can’t follow that “simple” instruction then we are defective people and it’s our own fault that we’re obese and sick.

So if “Eat Less, Move More” has failed in the past, don’t blame your lack of motivation. It is just not a great plan.

Yes, it is hard to make changes, but you cannot make changes based on positive attitude alone. You have to have a good plan to start with, and it has to be the RIGHT plan for you. That is why I always say, work hard but also work smart. And it works best if you find a plan that has you working hard for 2-3 weeks and then coasting the rest of the time, because that is how our motivation works too.

If you feel like you stalled and ran out of motivation, it is NOT a failure of motivation… it is because you haven’t discovered the right plan for you and learned the skills to make the plan sustainable. It has to be sustainable to the point where it works even if you are not paying attention.

You NEED to get psyched up in order to make important changes. You NEED that motivation. But don’t spend your hard-earned motivation on a rehash of the same plan that failed before. If your plan was not the right plan for you, try something different. Work smart AND work hard.

What is the right plan? That will be different for everyone. I had to try dozens and dozens of plans, and then mix and match and do some really hard thinking and studying. You will too… you will try a dozen things before you find out what works. But I’ll tell you for sure what won’t work… trying to do what’s already failed multiple times before. Try something NEW this time.