This topic is another that is very near and dear to me because I struggle with this quite regularly. I don't have everything as together as it might seem. I have my times that I get discouraged and think that I want to give up. I look at how far I have left to go and it just seems so far away, yet I don't take the time to look back on how far I've come. I sometimes have to take the times that I get discouraged and refocus myself and realize, "Yes, I still have to lose another 15lbs to reach my next goal, but I've already come so far in losing 75lbs." While this truth can be motivational for me, sometimes it isn't enough and I need something tangible, a visible symbol for how far I've come on this journey. At those times I look to my two children(ages 4 and 3) and realize that I've lost about as much weight as my children weigh. That is when I have to slow down and think about the fact that over a year ago I was carrying around the equivalent of my two toddlers on my body, all of the time. When I think of this it really is mind boggling because now, I couldn't imagine having to carry just one of my kids around all day long, let alone both of them. When I take a time out from all the crazy emotions going on in my head and put my weight loss in this type of perspective it really does help me to get back on track. Especially too, to think not only have I lost the combined weight of my children, but that I only have the combined weight of my two dumbbells left to lose.
I also catch myself going through the cycle of highs(staying on track and consistently losing) and my lows(getting discouraged and going off course). I go through about 8-10 weeks of losing, then drift off course for a week(sometimes longer) before I get myself refocused on my goals and accomplishments. This cycle that I continuously go through is part of the reason it has taken me over a year to lose 75lbs. However, this does not discourage me. We all have to work through our inner struggles and figure out the triggers that send us down to discouragement valley. We also have to figure out ways to avoid going there or at the very least make our stay as short as possible. Another extremely helpful "tool" for discouragement is a friend that you can talk to. My friend Stormy is extremely helpful with this. I know I can call her up when I get down and out and she will listen to me and gives me the encouragement I need to keep going. Just to have someone to talk to and know that they support your efforts is one of the most helpful things to pull me out of that valley of discourage.
If you find yourself getting discouraged and need someone, please, please feel free to reach out to me for support and encouragement. I feel strongly in "paying it forward", so with my success thus far I feel compelled to help anyone who wants it and will reach out to me, either in comments here or on my facebook.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Falling off the Wagon
I know it's been a while since I've had a new post, and I'm sorry. Things have been crazy in my life recently and I'm hoping to start posting more often. Anyway, this topic is very important to me since it is one of the issues I personally struggle with.
It's always easy to start off strong and go for a few weeks or even a couple months, but eventually we all reach a point that we feel like we've had it with our diet and exercise program and just want to give in to temptation. This happens to me quite often, sometimes I get weak and do give in, and other times I stand my ground. And I've learned that it is okay to have a slip up from time to time. But the important thing is to not let these "little slips" become major setbacks. It is so easy to have one bad day where you overeat or eat the wrong kinds of foods or miss your workout, overpower all of the progress you've made and slip back into the old habits that got you fat in the first place. But don't beat yourself up or give up completely. This is the time when you have to put things in perspective. Yes, you didn't do things the way you should have, but it's not the end of the world. You have to pick yourself up by you boot straps and jump right back on track. The more you dwell on your mistakes the easier it is to give up. Stay strong in your efforts and realize you can keep going. You deserve the better life that you've been working so hard for, but nobody can do it for you.
There are a lot of different methods that people use for making it a little easier to stay on track. I have two that I have used over the past year that really help to keep me going.
Let's face it, most of us will not say "I will never eat (a specific food) again." For me, that's not realistic. However, when I first started I allowed myself one day off a week that I ate whatever I wanted. It worked very well because I knew that I still had to work hard the other 6 days in the week to be able to enjoy that 7th day and still manage to loose the pounds. This doesn't mean to go hog wild 1 day and week and eat everything in sight and as much as your body can stand. It means to just relax and enjoy what you're eating and not stress out about how much fat, or carbs, or calories are in it. Just ENJOY it.
Now I still follow this method, but instead of an entire day, I try to limit it to my dinner on Friday or Saturday. I still get to enjoy a nice meal with my family and not have to cook 2 separate meals, but I do have to stay on course for the rest of the day.
It is important to find what works for you. If it is too hard to do it once a week because it makes it too easy to give up, then do it once a month. You have to know yourself and the "food demons" that you have to battle and develop a strategy to deal with them. The most important thing is to just never ever give up on yourself. If you fall off the wagon make sure you hit the ground running after it.
It's always easy to start off strong and go for a few weeks or even a couple months, but eventually we all reach a point that we feel like we've had it with our diet and exercise program and just want to give in to temptation. This happens to me quite often, sometimes I get weak and do give in, and other times I stand my ground. And I've learned that it is okay to have a slip up from time to time. But the important thing is to not let these "little slips" become major setbacks. It is so easy to have one bad day where you overeat or eat the wrong kinds of foods or miss your workout, overpower all of the progress you've made and slip back into the old habits that got you fat in the first place. But don't beat yourself up or give up completely. This is the time when you have to put things in perspective. Yes, you didn't do things the way you should have, but it's not the end of the world. You have to pick yourself up by you boot straps and jump right back on track. The more you dwell on your mistakes the easier it is to give up. Stay strong in your efforts and realize you can keep going. You deserve the better life that you've been working so hard for, but nobody can do it for you.
There are a lot of different methods that people use for making it a little easier to stay on track. I have two that I have used over the past year that really help to keep me going.
Let's face it, most of us will not say "I will never eat (a specific food) again." For me, that's not realistic. However, when I first started I allowed myself one day off a week that I ate whatever I wanted. It worked very well because I knew that I still had to work hard the other 6 days in the week to be able to enjoy that 7th day and still manage to loose the pounds. This doesn't mean to go hog wild 1 day and week and eat everything in sight and as much as your body can stand. It means to just relax and enjoy what you're eating and not stress out about how much fat, or carbs, or calories are in it. Just ENJOY it.
Now I still follow this method, but instead of an entire day, I try to limit it to my dinner on Friday or Saturday. I still get to enjoy a nice meal with my family and not have to cook 2 separate meals, but I do have to stay on course for the rest of the day.
It is important to find what works for you. If it is too hard to do it once a week because it makes it too easy to give up, then do it once a month. You have to know yourself and the "food demons" that you have to battle and develop a strategy to deal with them. The most important thing is to just never ever give up on yourself. If you fall off the wagon make sure you hit the ground running after it.
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