Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/542735
vital piece of advice that I learned from Holly," he says. "You can have a great outward attitude and keep your promises to everyone else, but if you have no integrity to yourself, everything falls apart. The key to weight loss is in being willing to get up every morning and do what you promised yourself you were going to do." With that advice in mind, and Pitcher and Wyatt there to remind her along the way, Lynn Robinson made it to the summit that day, where she and her husband were flanked by dozens of other exhausted campers who cheered their arrival at the top. A human- resources manager for Chevron who still struggles with obesity despite having gastric bypass surgery, Robinson says reaching that mountain top was an exhilarating and pivotal moment. "It was hard, really hard, but it's also really hard to be fat. Now I'm choosing the right hard," she says, after returning home to Canada. She'd already lost 13 pounds, down from 249, one week after leaving camp. And she's just getting started, she says. "I am pumped. No more excuses." GET YOUR MIND RIGHT Kick-start your weight-loss with these mental strategies Find your why: List reasons you want to lose weight (play sports with your kids; watch your grandchild graduate one day; accomplish a certain goal in five years, etc.) When tempted to skip a workout or eat junk food, take a peek at your list. Plan ahead: Decide what you'll order online before going to a restaurant. Make a grocery list and don't deviate from it. Treat exercise like any other appointment, putting it on your calendar, preferably in the morning, as research suggests willpower fades. See the glass as half full: Look at exercise as something you get to do, not something you have to do. Identify something you like about your new lifestyle each day, rather than dwelling on what you miss. Accept help: Make your promises to yourself (I vow to work out three times a week) as important as the promises you make to others, and let family pitch in at home so you have time to exercise. Get eight hours of sleep: Lack of sleep leads to hormonal shifts that boost cravings for sugar and fat, and research shows sleep deprivation weakens willpower. Adapted from the book "State of Slim," (Rodale; 2013) by James Hill and Dr. Holly Wyatt. Lynn and Rob Robinson (left) share a congratulatory kiss at the top of the steep hike. A coach and participant display the program's motto: Wellness Changes Everything. Health and Wellness Magazine • 59