CJ's Anti-Diet Do-Over!

CJ's Anti-Diet Do-Over!

Talk about a Do-Over! When I saw CJ Romberger after a long stretch, I walked right past her, because I didn't recognize the girl. She had lost 50 pounds, cut her hair, and lost the distance glasses.

Last week she shared her personal weight-loss system with a small and merry band of friends. Turns out, besides being a crack web designer/developer as founder of Wildwood Interactive, CJ has her coaching certification. (You may also know her as the "Gadget Girl" columnist for Austin Woman magazine.) Many of her principles and techniques make enormous sense to me as a coach, and I'd like to share a few of them here. You can use these resources for your own Do-Over!, whether you're aiming to transform your body or transform your career.

• Get clear about what you want and why
• Create an individualized process that works for you
• Design rigorous tracking and accountability structures
• Use tracking tools to detach from an emotional bond with your scale
• Use tracking as a form of observation, not judgment
  
• Take baby steps
• Identify with the behavior, not the weight
• Observe the resistance
  
• Reward yourself
  
• Fail, forgive, fix
• Get support but plan to depend on yourself
• And never say "diet"
  

CJ recommends: Martha Beck's The Four-Day Win: End Your Diet War and Achieve Thinner Peace

Above: CJ used a desk calendar as part of her tracking system, in addition to spreadsheets, posters, a heart rate monitor, and the SparkPeople online community. Below: CJ rewarded herself with stickers.