On August 7, 2008, Nick Cafardo, sportswriter for The Boston Globe wrote an article about the Redsox’s all-star second baseman, Dustin Pedroia. If you're a baseball fan or live in New England, you probably have seen some of his incredible feats on the field and at bat, but really what does that have to do with losing weight or getting fit and staying the course?

Adopting Pedroia’s Attitude = Keys to Success

He loves playing the game.

If you don’t already, learn to enjoy healthy food and how your body feels when you take care of it.

He gets to the ballpark early and goes through his regular routine.

I call this getting prepared and a technique my friend and colleague, Bobbie, coined “rehearsal of the mind.” See in your mind’s eye how you can successfully handle situations, picture yourself choosing healthy foods when eating out or during holidays. See yourself in control and, in your mind, experience the rewards of how you will feel afterwards.

He’s the first to arrive at the ballpark before a game.

I can’t say enough about the value of being prepared, whether it’s going to a summer cookout or handling a very stressful situation at work. Pre-plan what you will do, how you will overcome obstacles. If you don’t know what to do, hire a weight loss coach.

He practices everything, batting stance, hitting, fielding, etc.

Don’t leave anything to chance. Keep track of your food intake and activity and circumstances around your eating events, so you can identify positive and negative patterns. Reinforce the positive and brainstorm ideas to change negative patterns.

“I’m not on these trips to go sightseeing – I am here to play AND WIN”

Make conscious decisions about eating and exercise. Ask yourself, “Does this behavior move me closer to my goal?”

“You’re not a baseball player very long in life, so I am going to make sure that I am doing everything I can.”

This reminds me of my philosophy that life is not a dress rehearsal and that every day is a blessing. You only get one body and it is your packaging — how you present to the world. Ask yourself how you want to look and feel.

“I have a routine; I stick with it”

Once you get a routine down that is aligned with your goals, don’t let little blips or setbacks get you off track for long. Above all, accept the fact that you are human and not perfect. Beating yourself up about mistakes or slip-ups is counterproductive.

“If I didn’t do it this way, I wouldn’t feel ready to play.”

That about sums it up. I have been successfully managing my weight for over 25 years. I have a formula and it works. No, it’s not always easy, but years ago I made a choice about how I wanted to look and feel, how I wanted to walk through this life – to be able to do the things I want to do, to wear the clothes that I want to wear and look good, to be healthy and energetic and to enjoy life to its fullest.