If you are off-track with your weight loss goal, it’s usually just one thing that makes the difference in getting back on track.
I learned this by studying railroad switches recently. Turning the switch one way or the other determines the direction the train goes.
But here’s the trick: That switch must be locked. If it is not locked, the train goes in the easiest direction.
The same is true for weight loss: You need to find out what one healthy habit must be locked into your lifestyle to stay on track.
For me, the health habit I’ve locked is drinking the right amount of water every day.
If I don’t do that:
- I feel tired and don’t want to exercise
- I suffer food cravings
- I eat more
In fact, I created the image below to remind myself what it takes to stay on track. Notice that water is my baseline habit – the most important.
I recently re-read the book, The Body’s Many Cries for Water by Dr. F. Batmangelidj. The doctor makes a good case that many illnesses are prevented or even cured over time when you drink the right amount of water for your body every day.
Too many of us drink sodas (even diet ones), juice, coffee, tea or other beverages thinking that they will meet our water needs. But they don’t. In fact, drinks that contain caffeine can even cause the body to lose water. So if you drink teas and coffee often, it’s even more important that you drink water.
To stress the importance of this for myself, I think about trying to run a car without oil. What would happen? You know the answer – you damage the engine.
That happened to me when I was in my early 20’s: I thought I could get away with not putting oil in my car. Big mistake!
One day, I was driving down the interstate when smoke started pouring out of the engine. A lot. Panicked, I pulled off to the side of the road, but it was too late. The engine was messed up.
The funny thing was, I had an oil bottle in the trunk! I could have easily put the oil into the engine, but I kept putting it off.
That mistake cost me almost $2,000!
In the book, Dr. Batmangelidj says that the reason many people don’t drink enough water is similar: Because it is simple, free (nearly), and readily available, we tend to take it for granted. Instead we search for complicated, costly cures when the cure is right in front of us.
If learn more, you can check out my free article called: The Water Cure.
What one habit do you need to lock in to get yourself back on track? This is one habit that you will not compromise on. It is the one healthy habit on which all others depend.
For me, it’s drinking water.
What is yours? Start today and lock it in. It will feel great to get back on track!
P.S. Over 1,500 people downloaded my mini bible study guide for women, Abiding Love, during the free promotion day. Thank you! Since then, I’ve published two more mini guides: Courageous Heart and Outrageous Joy.
If you want to know more about how women of the bible had the courage to change their lives and express joy in what God did for them, then I highly recommend you check out these guides. You will be encouraged: