As I sat watching the Super Bowl yesterday, I witnessed the underdogs persevere and ultimately win. I thought about the parallels between the Super Bowl and weight loss. A stretch? See what you think!

1. Weight Loss is a team effort. You need a strong team around you to support you and keep you motivated and accountable. Without support, the journey is very difficult.

2. If you have a bad play, you acknowledge it and move on. Every one makes mistakes, yes, even Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. So if you have something that isn’t part of your healthy eating plan, acknowledge it and move on. Life is a series of wins and losses.

3. Believe in yourself. Don’t listen to what other naysayers believe, if you believe in your heart you can succeed, you will. It’s the pessimist that often sets the table for failure. If you believe, you can achieve.

4. Play to win. If you start off wondering “Another diet, I wonder if this one will work?”  If you make up your mind to succeed, never lose site of that goal. Visualize your success and rock it!

5. Playing to win is hard work. During any weight loss journey, there will be times when you feel like you just can’t go on and it’s hard. Just know that hard work always pays off in the end.

6. Plan, plan, plan. Imagine if either football team went out on the field without a plan, it would be a disaster. Same applies for weight loss, plan out your strategy for success.

7. Have fun! Losing weight is not meant to be a sentence of some sort, rather a journey to discover what makes you your best! Have fun, don’t get so tied up in the “rules” and the “win” that you forget to have fun and even learn along the way.

Congrats to New Orleans Saints and Naperville’s Sean Payton!

– Nicki