When I ask Code Red Rebels who wait months to get a Custom Program why it is they waited so long, one of the most common reasons I hear is, “Well, for a long time I thought ‘I got this’…until I realized I didn’t.”

These are usually Rebels who’ve read my book, or joined a 10 Pound Takedown (or both!) and decided, “Hey, I can do this all on my own. I don’t need a Custom Program or help in a Code Red coaching group.”

And in case you’re wondering: Yes, there are Rebels who use only the book and/or a challenge to lose a bunch of weight. (An astonishing amount, in some cases.)

But there are also Rebels who fall prey to “I got this” syndrome.

You’ll follow the book and the rules to consistent weight loss for a week…then decide, “a day off won’t hurt anything. I’ll start strong again tomorrow.”

You’ll stick hard and fast to the challenge rules…until your kid’s birthday party comes along and some cupcakes don’t make it out of the house. You pass by them 10 times, but on that eleventh time, you decide “just one bite,” and pretty soon you’ve inhaled three cupcakes.

Or your co-worker brings in a box of freshly baked donuts from the bakery down the street, and you think, “Just one won’t hurt me.”

It’s a slippery slope. Just one turns to “just” one more, and then another, and another, until you’ve not only fallen off the wagon, you’re getting dragged behind it.

If this is happening to you, it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you.

On the contrary: Falling prey to “I got this” syndrome is pretty normal.

So what can you do to make sure “I got this” syndrome doesn’t sabotage you (yet again)?

Simple: Be honest with yourself.

Take a moment, right now, to ask yourself whether “I got this” syndrome worked for you in the past when it came to your weight loss.

Did you lose all your weight? Are you keeping it off?

Or did you end up gaining your weight back (or even stalling out)?

Unless the answer is, “Yes, Cristy, I lost all my weight and have kept it off,” then I’d think twice about falling prey to “I got this” syndrome again.

I know I don’t even “got this,” and neither do Cari, my mom, or even my Certified Coaches.

We need each other’s support, because the temptations, mindsets, and food obsession we face in today’s world make it SO difficult to lose weight and keep it off.

We ALL need connection, education, support, and accountability, myself included, and we get it with Code Red.

If you know, deep down, that you honestly don’t “got this”…and that your will to figure it all out yourself is gonna fade before you lose the rest of your weight…then don’t risk losing (or worse, backsliding on) all the progress you’ve made. You’ve come too far to let that happen again.

Stay connected. Acknowledge you need help staying motivated, and connect with the people and tools you need to lose your weight and keep it off.

Make this the absolute last time you go around the weight loss mountain.