Why Can't I Figure This Out?

What is discipline and why are some people very disciplined while others, like me, can't seem to get a grasp on it. Don’t get me wrong, I am not undisciplined in all aspects of my life. There are areas in my life where I have a lot of discipline. There are some areas where I can rise up to the occasion, take the challenge, give it my all, whatever cliché you want to apply. There are a few areas where I just don't know how to get disciplined. Of course, I'm talking about weight loss.

I spent two years losing ninety pounds and felt great when I did. I got up every day and looked good in my clothes. My body didn’t require any medications or a CPAP machine to sleep at night. And then in eight short months, I seem to have forgotten everything I learned and gained most of it back.

Every morning I wake up saying this is the day. This is the day that I'm going to get back on track and eat right, exercise, drink lots of water. But by evening I'm complaining to myself about the progress that I didn't make, about that sweet treat that I ate, or that large breakfast or lunch or dinner I snarfed down. I'm complaining about being exhausted, I'm complaining about tight fitting shirts and pants that won't stay on, but I still don’t get started.

As far as exercise is concerned, it is not like I don't have the time to exercise, I have plenty of time to go out for a walk-I just don't do it A big part of our success in losing weight was to be able to walk every day. It was a good activity for Marj and me to do together. I love to walk if I'm somewhere where I can take my camera to take pictures or a place where I can see interesting people or things. I don't necessarily like walking around the track in the basement of the recreation center or walking around the buildings at work, but if I can get out and walk several miles cross country or throughout a new city a love it.

I also know that I have to get back to drinking water. I don't know what it is about water but I don't really enjoy drinking it. I do like a glass of water if it is just the right temperature and served in a glass. It's just a habit for me to open a bottle or can of Diet Coke and gulp it down. I need to get back to my regimen of drinking lots of water during the day and only one or two Diet Cokes a day. This isn't going to be easy, but the health effects are going to be fantastic. I know how good I felt and how good I looked when I lost all that weight.

What I think I need to do is take a picture of me when I had lost all the weight, one where I'm smiling and having a good time. Then make a list of things I need to do: drink water, limit Diet Coke intake, no snacks, exercise, sensible meals, and post both of them on my hotel room wall somewhere prominent. Then I need to force myself to read the list every day and actually follow it. Now that sounds like a good plan. Can I do it?

When I decide to do something I do it, how am I going to get myself to do this?