newbie trying to physic herself up to start new diet. Ideas?
Hey guys! I'm a newbie in need of advise. I'm getting married on Oct. 15th of next year and it's very important to me that i lose weight for the big day but it still hasn't been enough to motivate me off the couch yet. I have a million great reasons why i want to and should lose weight, but when it comes right down to it, i still opt for the TV/couch combo over sit ups and walks. Is there any one else out there who has a tendency to lean towards procrastination and being lazy? And if so how did you beat those impulses into submission and start making the necessary changes to get on track?
It is a decision.
Getting started is the first decision
But
Every single workout, every single mouthful is a decision.
It is a decision not to let setbacks make you quit.
After a while it does become a habit and it's easier.
Look for any victory, not just scale and size victory... for victories in making healthy decisions.
Making it a priority in your day will mean you can procrastinate later.
As someone here said... it is part of their morning routine... just like it's routine to shower, brush hair, brush teeth, have coffee... it is routine to get half an hour exercise every morning - if that is yoga, or walking or sit ups.
My advice ~ stop thinking of it as a diet and start thinking of it as your new way of life.
Get your nutrition down first. When you start eating better foods you will have more energy and motivation to get off the couch and exercise.
Read, read, read all over this forum. There is advice I stumble across that is 3 years old that is so sound! I particularly pay attention to people who are the same height... it's kind of like a sisterhood of size .
Whodunit, I am also just starting out and I am often the same when it comes to procrastinating. Opting not to eat junk is one thing, but happily choosing to exercise instead of reading / going out with friends / watching movies in what little time I have off from work? I don't think I'll ever be that person.
I just started working on my diet this week, and I think once I've got that done I'm just going to force myself into some kind of early morning routine. It's like Cookc04 said, we just have to make it a priority! Maybe later we'll learn to enjoy it, somehow :P
We seem to be about the same height/weight, let's stick it out and make this happen for ourselves this year!
Oh, and I find visualizing the long-term vs. short-term worth of eating junk is really helping me this first week. It's like, would I really rather this bagel right now, more than being thin and healthier in a years time? Then I take a minute to visualize how I would feel being able to buy more of the clothing styles I prefer, or something like that. maybe it sounds crazy but I find just taking that one minute helps. Maybe you could visualize how happy you'll be to have achieved your goals by your wedding day? Talk about a double celebration!
I am the same way. I have been finding new places to walk so I can look around at new sights (park, mall, new neighborhoods). I also have been doing AM and PM yoga. It's 20 minutes and I have never slept better! I have so much stress in my life that 20 minutes of yoga a night makes me sleep all night without waking up!! A huge change from lying awake worrying about my daughter, husband, dog, house, job, life....
I have also just recently enlisted my husband for help. "Every week you are supportive and do not offer me bad food/encourage exercise you can have ..." Whatever he chooses. This is the first week but he has been great. Last night I got "honey you have been so good with sticking to your plan" (tear). He would have never said that before. It's not the bribe that got him it's his inner self realizing he wasn't terribly supportive before. Enlist help! This is going to be your way of life and your future husband has to be in it too.
Good luck and if you need my support I will be more than happy to email you.
I really, really recommend reading The Beck Diet Solution. It is not a diet book per se, in that it does not outline or endorse any specific way of eating. Instead, it is about cognitive behavior therapy, and how to turn that "I really want to" into "I am doing," which I think is the hardest part of weight loss. I am not one to read diet books or self-help books, but really, this book is outstanding.
Set a small goal for yourself. Come up with an eating plan and an exercise plan, and make a goal to stick with it for one week. Seven days. Plan a reward (nonfood!) -- like a pedicure or something. Show yourself that you can do it for one week. Then do it for two. Repeat.
In one year, when you slip on your wedding dress, you can feel pride about your weight or regret about your weight. It is up to you. You hold the power in your hands to make that dress a size 18 or 14 or 10.
You can do this. But you have to start.
Last edited by thesame7lbs; 10-14-2010 at 07:32 AM.
People ask me all the time how I lost 165 lbs when they can't even lose 10 of them. And I tell them very simply - "that I decided to". Yup, as simple as that. I made the decision to lose the weight, once and for all, permanently and NO MATTER WHAT.
Without a doubt the most important factor is DESIRE. You have to desire to be thin, fit, trim, healthy and the best you possible more than you want the food.
The other thing you're battling - you're just not sure if it's possible. Can I really do it? Well yes, of course we can. We ALL can.
I'm a little pressed for tiime... wait a sec.. I'm going to cop out and find an old post and repost it, not exactly what I'd say to you, but here goes:
Know that you DO have the ability to lose the weight. We all do. It's not some hare brained, crazy, out of this world scheme. We all are capable of it. Yourself included.
Eating well, adhering to a healthy life style is nothing to fear, nothing to loathe. Remaining obese IS. So, you need to fear and loathe it (remaining obese).
At some point, you will have to come to the conclusion that all that *food* comes at too high of a price. That the consequences are just too high.
At some point your desire to be thin, healthy, fit and active will have to outweigh, overtake and overpower the desire for all that food.
At some point you will have to come to terms that you just can't have it both ways - the high calorie, high quantity food and be the optimal you.
At some point you will have to recognize that you DO have the power over this. That it IS within your control. That being overweight is a choice. That getting slim is a choice. And you are the one that gets to choose.
At some point you will have to realize that it's okay to tell yourself no. That you don't have to give into a craving or a desire or a want. You will have to stop worrying about your immediate gratification and look to your long term satisfaction.
At some point, you'll have to change what you want. The foods that you're eating, the way that you're living.
At some point you will have to change your relationship with food. You can't use it for times of anger, loneliness, boredom, stress, happiness, joy.
At some point you will have to stop focusing on what you are giving up and focus on what you are GAINING.
At some point you will just have to do the mature, responsible, adult thing and make mature, responsible decisions.
At some point you will have to realize that all work, effort, time, devotion, persistence and dedication that this requires is incredibly worth it and to not do it would be ludicrous.
At some point you will just have to suck it up and get past the uncomfortable moments of changing your bad habits and incorporating the new ones in. There WILL be uncomfortable moments - initially, temporarily.
At some point you will have to raise your standards and require more from yourself. And stop settling for foods that just taste good. You'll need them to taste good and BE good for you; long after your done chewing.
At some point you will have to challenge yourself and really, really push yourself. You'll have to give it 150 percent. You'll have to push and push. Reaching, stretching, striving, growing, prospering.
At some point you'll have to realize that eating well, adhering to a healthy lifestyle is no prison sentence. But a ticket to freedom. That will open up more doors to you than you can possibly imagine. Ones you didn't even realize were closed.
At some point you will have to say, enough is enough. I'm not going to take this another minute. I'm done being fat. That it can't possibly be as hard to lose the weight as it is to remain morbidly obese. Choosing your hard.
At some point you will have to decide to do this, once and for all, permanently and NO MATTER WHAT. No matter what.
At some point you'll have to set yourself up for success. Get rid of the junk. Make a plan, make a plan, make a plan. Plan, plan and than plan some more. Plan out your food schedule in advance, knowing where each and every bite is coming from AHEAD OF TIME. Much easier to stick to a plan when you've got one. Write down each and every morsel that goes into your mouth before it goes in that said mouth. No matter what. It doesn't go into your mouth before you write it down. Be firm. Make some boundaries, make some rules. Set some limits. And stick to them. No matter what. Stop giving yourself permission to veer off. Enough is enough. Time to do the mature, responsible thing, even if you don't want to. Eventually, you'll want to.
And luckily once you get into it, working past that initial discomfort, getting through the detox period so to speak, and it becomes more habitual and then those rewards start surfacing and it no longer feels like a sacrifice - it becomes dare I say - easy. But you've got to get there. You've got to push through to get to that point. So I urge you to PUSH YOURSELF. Find out what you're capable of. Amaze yourself.
And really, why on earth WOULDN'T you do this? Why???? Why keep settling for second best when first best is well within your reach? Break those bad habits, incorporate the new good ones. Isn't it worth going through a little uncomfortable moments for a few weeks or heck even months to switch behaviors, learn some new skill, master something incredible and have a wonderful, more carefree life? One with lotssssss less worries and anxieties and one with much more joy, happiness, confidence, self respect, stamina, energy, vitality,optimal health and choices???
Last edited by rockinrobin; 10-14-2010 at 08:04 AM.
Isn't "wanting to look good in your wedding photos" incentive enough?
.
Never mind looking your best for you wedding day, but how about FEELING your best for you wedding day and for the rest of your LIFE. Wouldn't it be great to start your newly married life being the best you possible??? Not just that one singular day - but every day thereafter....
The only thing I would like to add... START RIGHT NOW! RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND! GO!! GO NOW! One year until your wedding... that year will WHIZ by SO FAST. Faster than you can even imagine. Just. Start. Doing. It. Practice makes easy.
Whodunit-First of all....I used to live in Ashland. I moved to Oklahoma in 1982, but I still have family there. Hope to visit sometime soon.
Second of all, congrats on finding 3FC, it has really helped me change my way of thinking about alot of things. I know it will help you, too.
You will find something that will spur you into changing your way of life (diet, exercise, etc.). I hope it is the thought of being healthy and fit for your new life as a married woman. If not, something will finally get you going.
Find a way of eating that works for you. I suggest counting calories, increasing fiber and water, reducing fat and sugar. Also find a way of exercising that you love. I bought an elliptical and HATED it. I finally found the Walk Away The Pounds dvds and love them and I walk 2 or 3 miles at least 5 times a week using that program. I feel the best I have felt in years now. So much energy and just a great outlook on all things.
Once you get moving, the desire to just sit around will go away.
newbie trying to physic herself up to start new diet. Ideas?
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