There are many temptations to overcome when you decide to embark on this journey.

I will talk about those I faced and the hurdles I had to overcome, hopefully it helps. I had to overcome myself. I was the problem, nothing else and no one else was. I had to learn to pass by all the seemingly nice things in the supermarket and walk away. I would stop and look at my favourite cookie like a lost love and wish it could fly into my basket without me touching it so I didn’t need to feel guilty about it but I would start thinking of all the calories I would add if I took it and how many hours of work-out it would require to burn it and I would sigh heavily and walk away. But before the opportunity arose for me to lose on the battlefield of the mind, what I did was write a list of exactly what I was going to buy and take the exact amount I needed. I completely avoided the evil aisles, I didn’t keep at home what I didn’t plan to eat (if it is in your house, in your fridge, you will eat it). I was living alone so it was easy to control that. But whenever I was back with family, it was a different ball game! I was in the midst of people who were not health conscious. I had to cook for a bunch of people who loved fat, carbs and calories. But I overcame, I prepared my food separately. I made sure I didn’t wait to be hungry before cooking so I didn’t get tempted to eat because I was too tired to prepare my own meal afterwards. Trust me, they all made fun of me. I was told to put my diet on hold just for one day and enjoy with them, but I didn’t, within a few weeks of consistent and persistent effort, my mum joined my team and lost 10kg. At this point, I could no longer backslide because my mother was now looking up to me.

Everyone likes a good thing. Everyone wants to live a healthy life but most of us just need encouragement. My results encouraged my family to participate. It became less stressful for me because I cooked one healthy meal for us. But one thing was key; I had learnt to overcome the struggle on my own before I exposed myself to that. I was away from everything that could make me surrender. Not many will have such opportunities. Overcoming pressure from family and friends is not a piece of cake and one of the keys to being consistent is overcoming temptation.

My first advice is always to count the cost. Most people want to embark on this journey without sitting down to properly plan and you know what they say about planning. “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” This is applicable to weight loss too. People just wake up and say today I am starting my journey for the 100th time but they fail to realise that one of the reasons why it failed many times before was failure to count the cost. I will say this for the third time; you will not get new results from old habits. If you want to experience something you have never experienced, you have to be ready to do something you have never done. That includes waking up an hour earlier than you do so you can work out, even if that is 4am. It includes convincing your husband to change date nights to work-out nights. It includes reducing the number of weddings you attend because when you do, the tray of small chops disappear quickly. It means that instead of watching five movies on Tuesday (because it is only a thousand naira with free soft drink and popcorn) you watch just one or none.

It means you might need to get creative, buy data instead and download a movie, buy the DVD and watch it at home. It means that you will have to separate yourself from things and people that do not align with your present goals and are not helping you achieve them and though it sounds easy, you will soon discover that separating yourself from the things you love and are used to even if they cause you harm is awesomely difficult. It is during times like this that you understand the struggle people have and why they remain in abusive and parasitic relationships, drug addiction and the likes even when they know they deserve better, even when they know they might not make it out alive.

It is not enough to count the cost, it is important to check your ‘savings’ and see if you have what it takes to pay the price. You need to check if you need a ‘loan’. Because you do not want to be an abandoned project. If you are married, seek help from your spouse. Have a heart to heart conversation. Let them know the struggle you are having and ask for their support. Call your friends and tell them you will no longer be doing sleep overs because you need to commit to a plan and you would appreciate their encouragement. Speak to your family, explain that you need them to watch you and not allow you eat certain things at certain times and not make fun of you or discourage you.

HOME WORK

1. Write down five practical steps you will take today to help you overcome temptation. You have to be very honest. Do you need to stop attending weddings? Do you need to speak to the woman who supplies food to your office to stop bringing a portion for you even though you feel bad? Write it down and remember it is not permanent it is just what you need to give up until you reach your goal.