Hey guys! I am about a month into my most recent renewal of commitment to my weightloss, and I am coming up to the all too predictable wall. It never fails, I always get really excited and gung-ho about going all the way, but the ol' willpower wears down! I've been quite good the last week, stayed within my caloric range all last and this week (until today when I decided I needed to have a special fast food night--for my sanity), and I haven't really seen the scale moving much at all. I know plateaus happen, but I didn't think it would this quickly.
Anyway, now is about the usual time when I get frustrated and maybe even a little bit angry with my program, and then I just stop altogether. And since my body tends to gain weight more easily than it loses, I can easily undo a whole month or more of great habits in a matter of a couple weeks.
SO: I am turning to everyone here on 3FC to help me get through this! Because more than anything, I want to go the distance and get myself down to where I want to be. I also think that I tend to be hard on myself when it comes to weight loss and seeing the numbers on the scale, and it makes me give up sort of easily, but I am determined not to let me sabotage myself.
So I just thought I'd turn to the boards to see what everyone has to say about getting through the walls. How did you do it, keep yourself going the whole way? What gets you through the plateaus and the roughest times?
I've got a really painful foot at the moment but I'm doing as much walking as I can. Walking into town, it's annoying. Walking back, I look at the slight hill up home, I look at the giant church I live next to which looks miles away, and I think, I'll never do it. I start plodding on. there ain't no buses, so that limits my choices to none. After 5 minutes' plod, I can't face it any longer. I look up, and the church seems as far away as ever. Having no choice, I sigh and plod on again. And the process repeats until I get to the last little stretch, which is on the flat, only a few hundred yards, and I stride along full of vim and vigour.
In answer to your question: this is exactly what I do with my weightloss programme ~ I've decided that I don't have the choice Not to do it; I'm frankly surprised my health has held out this long. Every so often I pause, look at how far I've got to go, sigh, and plod on again. Sticking with my Plan has become non-optional, a duty like cleaning the sink. It's not always that miserable! In fact, in about 70 days, it's felt no less than stoic acceptance, often great pleasure, or anywhere in between. I've cut the emotion out of eating On Plan, though, so that however crppy my mood is, the eating properly isn't affected by it.
For me what helps is determining my efforts as successful by sticking to my plan. This is something at the end of every day or even every meal I can praise myself for. Weight loss isn't always linear so using the scale as the indication of success can potentially cause derailment and frustration at not being rewarded when you think you should be for your efforts. Making the effort the reward helps. If you keep it up, the weight will go down.
I think it may be time to make a commitment to yourself to see this through - once and for all, no matter what and permanently. This way there is nothing to decide, no way of bailing out or deciding to quit. Push yourself. Work past the discomfort of losing the *bad* habits and obtaining the good ones.
Require more from yourself. Raise your standards. Stop settling for a second best existence when first best is WELL within your reach.
That being said - don't make this harder than need be. Find DELICIOUS healthy, lower calorie foods to eat. They're out there. Be creative. Make this healthy way of life delightful, so that you don't *mind* adhering to it. No reason to go *off your diet*, when ON is so good. But it DOES take time to get there. So allow yourself that time.
Make a plan. Map out your food schedule in advance, ALWAYS knowing where you next snack or meal is coming from. Much easier to stay on plan when you've got one. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Know that you have the ability to do this. You are more than capable of it. Don't throw in the towel at a time when if you just push a little harder, push a little further - success could be yours.
Adhering to a healthy lifestyle is no burden or hardship, but a joy and a pleasure. It's no prison sentence, but your ticket to freedom that will open up more doors to you than you can possibly imagine, ones you didn't even know were closed.
Make this time,your time. Discover who you were meant to be. I mean, why wouldn't you?
Help: The Dreaded Wall!!!
