"A New Me" Group's February Fitness Challenge

You Don't Have to Be Perfect to Lose Weight
By Katie Jay, MSW, Certified Life Coach

To banish your perfectionism, and the all-or-nothing attitude it burdens you with, try these three tips:

1) Allow yourself to make mistakes so you can learn.
When you feel anxious or sad for having done something imperfect, switch from the self-critical "giving-up mode" to "learning mode." Instead of berating yourself the way JoAnn did, ask yourself: "What can I learn from this mistake and what can I do differently right now?"

2) Be realistic.
Making one mistake does not mean you are *always* making mistakes. When you start to feel like you're a hopeless case, ask yourself: "Is that really true? Realistically, what else can I do?"

3) Lower your standards.
Practice making a few mistakes on purpose. Then, practice doing a few tasks less thoroughly than you would have in the past. As you practice you will develop a tolerance for imperfection. And remember, practice makes ... well, maybe not.

You Don't Have to Be Perfect to Lose Weight. Let's say you do what you need to do to lose weight and keep it off 90 percent of the time. You'll probably do pretty well. Why don't you give it a try and find out. It sure beats ZERO percent of the time, doesn't it?