The Craving Change Challenge: Are You Ready?

We’re betting that many, if not all, of you are craving change. That’s right: a new attitude, new skills, and most of all, new results from your medical weight loss plan. There’s no better time to capitalize on your change cravings than with a challenge that’ll kick your motivation into high gear.

Cravings. They’re usually associated with food, especially for someone on a weight loss plan. But have you ever stopped and considered what—besides food—you’re really craving?

We’re betting that many, if not all, of you are craving change. That’s right: a new attitude, new skills, and most of all, new results from your medical weight loss plan. And with the change of seasons, there’s no better time to capitalize on your change cravings than with a challenge that’ll kick your motivation into high gear. 

This month, we’re going to tackle four different concepts of change for our Craving Change Challenge:

1. Changing your mind…by channeling negative thoughts into decisive action.
2. Changing your appetite…by redefining hunger.
3. Changing your heart…by learning to forgive yourself the way you forgive others.
4. Changing your routine…and in the process, making exercise the habit you need and want it to be.

Learning and challenging yourself with these four change concepts will also lead to changing your bodyand seeing the results you’re looking for. Are you ready to commit? Read on for the ground rules and your mission over the next four weeks.

The Ground Rules

We’re going to keep this simple. There are only three ground rules you need to know and adhere to:

1. Make your commitment concrete and visible. To do this, all you need to do is write the following on a piece of paper and sign it.  
   
   ‘I commit to the Craving Change Challenge.’ Signed, Your Name
   
   Now, place this paper somewhere you’ll see it every day. The fridge, near your computer, or on the dashboard of your car are all possible ideas. 
2. Do the daily mini-challenge. Yes, it is mini! In some cases it may take you only a few minutes to do.  However, you must do it every day. Here are some examples for the Craving Change Challenge:
   a) Week 1 Example: I will use the Positive Self-Talk exercise each morning before I start my day. 
   b) Week 2 Example: I will perform the Creating Pauses to Notice Hunger exercise after dinner every night this week.
   c) Week 3 Example: I will use the Forgiveness Inventory at the end of each day to see the impact on my eating habits.
   d) Week 4 Example: I will log 500 more steps each day on my pedometer.
3. Check in at the end of every day. Again, this is a small but important task. Before you go to sleep each night of the challenge, you need to answer three questions. If you want to write your answers down, even better. But it’s not mandatory. The only requirement is that you do it every night. Here are the three questions to ask yourself at the end of each day:
   
   a) My progress with this week’s skill is… (Answer from 1-10 with 1 being ‘I’ve made no progress’ and 10 being ‘I’ve mastered this skill.’)
   b) My confidence level with this week’s skill is… (Answer from 1-10 with 1 being ‘not at all confident’ and 10 being ‘extremely confident.’)
   c) I could better master this week’s skill if tomorrow I… (This is an open-ended question, designed to help you identify ways you can better achieve that particular week’s goals.)

That’s it! Make the change commitment now and check back next week for your first week of mini-challenges. Together, we’ll work to forever alter your view of cravings, and—in the process—forever change your body and mind!

 

Next Steps:

Try these 3 ways to beat the weight-loss blahs.
Get great tips for scheduling in weight loss.
Find a center near you to schedule a consultation with a CMWL doctor.