Anyone else like me? Ive been having all these dreams about how wonderful i will look when i get my treadmill and go running and really get into hardcore running and lose all that weight ..and in my dreams im the skinniest and most in shape i want to be.. i look better and feel better and i love how i look in a new wardrobe i bought with the money that i have..what a dream..and whats funny..is that i think i spend more time day dreaming about being thin than i do about making it happen. I dont have my treadmill yet but i will soon..but until then, i find myself dreaming about having one and making it happen.Like, im making an excuse not to make it happen now until i have everything i need..and in my dream its perfect, i work out, i eat right i lose weight. But here..in real life..i sit more on my couch and wait and wish for my treadmill and wish for the body i want instead of really doing anything now while im waiting.. ..anyone else like that? does day dreaming just make you feel so much better than living in the here and now?
I think a lot of us have done similar, I still daydream about being really skinny, and how it'll all happen etc.
I think 'waiting' for tools for weight loss such as equipment is a mistake, kind of like 'I'll start tomorrow' mentality. I definitely prefer to do something to begin reaching that food/exercise/weight goal right now- whether it's not eating something unhealthy, or putting your trainers on and going for a walk.
It's not necessarily the case for everyone, and I don't know what your current exercise consists of but I'd recommend doing a bit of jogging outside, even on the spot to help get you started.
Running can be really liberating and really great for you so I hope you like it!
I was like that for a while. Mainly when I was unhappy (and it was perpetuating the unhappiness.)
At some point I got off the couch, went to yoga, put on my hiking boots, went walking - and I became happier, and moving my body felt so good that I wanted to fuel it properly, too. And I have set and reached goals beyond just what the number on the scale is.
Just get up. Even if you don't want to. Even if you think it's pointless because you have a long way to go. Just do it. Then do it again tomorrow.
The problem with that sort of mental masturbation is that it keeps you so focused on the end goal that the intermediate steps are depressing: you've got to be perfect to reach the fantasy, and that's too far away, so you don't want to even start.
Try to visualize one or two steps ahead, not twenty.
I used to enjoy the day dreaming more than the reality, because in my reality I wasn't do anything to move myself forward in regards to my appearance, my health, my level of fitness, etc., and that reality was crushing and depressing for me. It's different now - most of my dreams have become goals, and they're ones I'm actively working toward and are now actually realistic. And that feels so, so much better than the dreams to which I'd escape in the past.
One motto I try to remind myself of is: "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good". The perfect circumstances to make changes to your life seldom exist, the pieces are seldom all perfectly in place. And so you just have to do what you can and make the progress you can with what you have. Every day is a chance for me to make progress toward my goals, even the days when I'm stressed and tired and unmotivated. I can do some things right, even if I'm not doing every single thing I wish I were doing in my ideal world. I can focus on eating wholesome, healthy foods even if I can't make time to get to the gym on a particular day. I can make sure I stay within my calorie range even if my sodium is a little too high. I can get to the gym for 35 minutes even if I can't get there for an hour. Every day I have a chance to change my life, and every day that I work toward making that happen I am happier for it.
I still sometimes have day dreams about a body I'll probably never have, the one that can wear beautiful lingerie and look awesome in it. I'll never look awesome in it, lol. But in a year I WILL look a whole **** of a lot better in it than I do today, that's for damn sure.
Last edited by chickadee32; 03-26-2011 at 06:50 PM.
I sometimes think I love the idea of running and planning out runs and scheduling them more than the actual running. But in the end, if you get out and do it, what's the difference?
Just make sure when you get that treadmill, you get one the thing 3-4 times a week to run and walk on it the other days. You can even daydream while you walk. Before you know it, months will have passed by and you'll be seeing a difference.
I was watching an episode of Heavy the other day...they went to the grocery store with a nutritionist and were asked to go pick out all their favorite binge foods. They ran around the grocery store grabbing cheese, donuts, hotdogs, chips - nothing healthy. The nutritionist asked them to remember why they were getting in shape - to imagine their fantasy life of how things would be when they were thin. And then, she said when they look at buying that bag of chips next, to ask themselves if they want to the chips or they want the fantasy.
I found it interesting...I even tried it myself with a bag of cheetos the other day. I asked myself, "Do you want the Cheetos or do you want to be thin on your wedding day."
Just a reminder of how important those "fantasies" can be. I think it's good to get into the mindset of having "your eye on the prize" just make sure you don't lose sight of the steps in between.
Why are you waiting for a treadmill to do something? You obviously have a computer so why not find some online workouts you can do. I don't think being inactive then getting on a treadmill and running is going to go very well soooooo why not start building up some stamina now and when you do get the treadmill you can run happily(lol well as happily as one can be running lol)
Oh sorry back to ur post....I live in a dream world most o my life so I do understand how ya feel.
Last edited by DisgruntledOne; 03-26-2011 at 07:43 PM.
Oh yes! I can't tell you how many of my daydreams have me looking and feeling great. I would get lost into these fantasies and think about nothing else because "that place" made me happy. But I have to say......even though I am not yet at the weight I am in my daydreams, the reality I am living now is so much better knowing that I am working really hard to get there. And like I said, although I am not there yet, I am so much closer to it than I ever was.
I daydream so much. I remember the days when I didn't worry about being thin...I just was. Now, I dream about it. I am still at the point where I dream, then do the things that keep me far from the dream. Thank you for your posts. As a newbie, I need it.
i daydream about being smaller than my fiance. it's a long long road. i tried once, lost about 30-35lbs, then gave up and gained it all back. in my 'what ifs' i hadn't given up. and wouldn't be a size 24 on my wedding day. *sigh* thinking about "one day in the future" just didn't make the pounds go away. especially since i'd probably be eating a bag of chips while doing it....
oh well. my wedding photos can be my before pics, and maybe my first anniversary can be my after pics? visualizing how those photos might look make me excited to get there. and it does motivate me a bit.
I do that now! I have an elliptical and the wii fit program and I still day dream while I sit and do mostly nothing and then I hate myself the next day cause I didn't do anything. I am up and moving a little more every day but not as much as I would like. I have other med issuse so I cant just jump on it and get it done I have to slowly work into a bigger routine. Best thing to do is take it one day at a time. Tomorrow you will take 10 min walk and you will do that for 3 days then a 20 min walk then a 10 min jog...so on and so forth until it becomes a routine that you can handle. It is a proven fact that if you can do the same thing every day for at least 20 days it will become a habit. Best of luck to you and I am right there with you!!
I think you're telling yourself that you really want this-but your actions must speak as loud as your dreams. Start small, but start. Walk or jog, even for a few minutes at a time helps. You just have to do. It is very hard, and I have struggled with the same thing as you for awhile. I always wanted, but I never did. Well, now I'm past that, and I'm doing. You can too!
Thinking the dream but not living it?
