You want to lose weight, and you’re willing to do whatever it takes. You’re pretty sure that you’re going to have to give up a few things, and you’re absolutely right about that. But it might not be the things you expect.  On today’s episode of the Get Your GOAL podcast, I’m sharing five surprising things I gave up when I lost weight for the last time in my 50s.

Isn’t it funny how we always think that giving something up is a bad thing? Like, when you saw the title of this podcast, you probably thought something like, “Oh, Pahla’s gonna tell me that she had to give up her favorite food, or that she gave up drinking wine.”

Or we associate giving up with quitting or backing down from a standard we think is unachievable. Again, in a bad way. Like maybe you think I’m going to tell you that I gave up on trying to get back down to the weight I was in high school, or I gave up trying to fit into my wedding dress again.

When it comes to weight loss, we really think that giving something up always means choosing what’s right instead of what’s fun, or doing what we have to do instead of what we want to do.

If we want to lose weight we have to buckle down, put the lid on, get serious, stay focused, restrict ourselves, stay away from temptation, eat perfectly, drink perfectly, sleep perfectly, exercise perfectly, and don’t forget to manage your mind perfectly, too, right?

My friend, the answer is no on all accounts.

So, what did I give up to lose weight in my 50s?

I gave up feeling sorry for myself.
I gave up blaming other people.
I gave up criticizing my body.
I gave up thinking I couldn’t figure it out.
I gave up losing weight ever again.

And I whole-heartedly encourage YOU to give these things up, too – while still enjoying your favorite foods, living your best life, and pursuing the goal that makes your heart sing.