The One Day Way - Introduction

I started reading "The One Day Way" by Chantal Hobbs last night.   I'd begun it earlier, but wanted to start over, this time with a highlighter :)   The subtitle of the book is "Today Is All the Time You Need to Lose All the Weight You Want".

The best way to share my thoughts about this book is to share some excerpts and comment on them, so let's begin.

Introduction  - Today Really Can Be Different From the Rest

You want to break free from the habits that have held you back, but you're beginning to realize that the changes won't last unless you look below the surface.

Your opportunity to change happens today - not yesterday or next week.

Most diets fail because the dieter fails to first change the way she thinks.

Your life won't change as a result of setting fantastic and lofty long-range goals. Your life will change because of what you do today and the next day and so on.

Your thinking always controls your actions. Both negative and positive thoughts have the ability to dictate your actions at any given moment. What gives you the upper hand is that you have a choice: will you make sure that positive thoughts control your mind, or will you give in to negative thoughts? The ability to choose your thoughts and actions gives you tremendous power. You can decide which thoughts will rule your actions, and those decisions will dictate whether you succeed or repeat a past failure.

You can change your life in some way, starting today!

Grasping the truth of how to lose weight permanently and gain a new life of passion is a day-to-day process. Losing one pound at a time, strengthening one muscle at a time - that is how you can free yourself from frustration and failure. You're not preparing to embark on a new diet but rather a new way of thinking and living.

If you want to really change your life, you have to understand that you change it in one day. And that day is today. What you did or failed to do yesterday is in the past. Don't let it drag you down. And what you hope to do tomorrow doesn't matter either. Tomorrow is beyond your reach. What you can control is to choose the best actions today. You change your life with what is immediately in front of you. You have been given today, so use it well.

The way to get a new life is to do things today that will propel you to change in small, measurable pieces...you take a step toward the life you want today, and then another step tomorrow...don't be interested in perfection; instead be committed to progress.

These were the portions I highlighted from the introduction. 

All I can do is what's immediately in front of me right now.

In the past, I've tended to suffer from having lofty goals and constantly falling short.  That's been very frustrating and I give up because I feel like I'll never be able to lose all the weight and get to the goal.

Looking back, I can see that focusing on small changes and maintaining them does work.   Granted, it works s...l...o...w...l...y, but it works!  Without being completely and totally dedicated to losing weight, I've lost nearly 70lbs over the last 7 or so years.   That was simply by making small changes to what I ate, drank, and my activity level.  We are talking small changes, not big ones.

I can do this, and so can you!