How do you motivate yourself??

ziggy2006

yummysesame wrote: »

and I can't help ruminating on these little 'failures' and think about how I set myself back. Grrrrr being a perfectionist is so tiring sometimes!!

I think this is the key to understanding what is going on. Perfectionism leads to black and white thinking, and when applied to the dieting situation you described, it leads you to interpret the situation as only having two possible outcomes - success (adhering perfectly to your plan) or failure (deviating even one little bit from your plan).

I'm trying to think of an analogy, and the best I can come up with is that it is like a football team whose offense consists of going for a touchdown every play, as that is the perfect outcome. They aren't able to be successful because they don't have the necessary repertoire of strategies.

How could you handle situations where you are extremely hungry at mealtime and unable to stick to your eating plan? How can you redefine success in situations such as this when you aren't able to stick perfectly to your plan? It is a real challenge for a perfectionist to find and accept shades of grey, but it is essential to your long term success in managing your weight to be able to do so. You need to be able to do the same for situations where you are sluggish and tired when it is workout time. Redefining success in that situation might be as simple as replacing your regular workout with taking the dogs out for a long walk. But it is hard to see or accept those possibilities when you are locked into perfectionistic thinking.

Beating yourself up mentally over your "failures" is nonproductive behavior. It takes time and hard work to learn to manage your perfectionist tendencies, and the first step is acknowledging and accepting that it leads to cognitive distortions that cause you to perceive reality inaccurately. Being able to recognize when you slip into mental habits like black or white thinking or labeling (imperfections get labeled as "failures") will be invaluable in helping you to reach your goals.

cbelc2

I have this beautiful picture of a thin healthy woman front and center on my bulletin board at work. I face her every day. One day she will be in the mirror.