80% Mental?

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girlgroves
girlgroves Posts: 235 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
What percentage of successful weight loss and maintenance is mental, do you think?

It took determination, focus and motivation for me to get to where I am at the moment, but I feel like a combination of things this week has meant that my head has not been in the game. And the result has shown on the scale. I'm in need of a bit of a reality check!

How much of your success do you attribute to being psychologically in the 'right' place?
How easily are you derailed or spurred on by thoughts and feelings in your mind?
Do you think we almost give ourselves permission to succeed/fail/fall off the wagon?
Why do we do that?!
What strategies have you used to successfully avoid falling into that trap?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • girlgroves
    girlgroves Posts: 235 Member
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    Thanks kommodevaran - that's where I'm hoping to get to - eventually! How did you get to that point in the first place?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Finding and using MFP - food diary, discussion board - helped. I could finally focus on what matters and ignore the noise. It was a lot of noise before. I was so fed up of feeling like a failure, and ready to try a totally new approach.
  • Piqueaboo
    Piqueaboo Posts: 1,193 Member
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    How much of your success do you attribute to being psychologically in the 'right' place? For me it's probably 90%
    How easily are you derailed or spurred on by thoughts and feelings in your mind? Not easily, because I keep reminding myself why I am doing this, and visit the success boards here daily. I know what I want, where I want to get to, so I really need to be in a bad place to ignore that.
    Do you think we almost give ourselves permission to succeed/fail/fall off the wagon? Yes. Out of resignation, perhaps? The thoughts of how hard it can be? I usually find my thoughts being worse than reality, the idea of going on a run is a lot harder than just walking out the door and doing it.
    Why do we do that?! I don't know
    What strategies have you used to successfully avoid falling into that trap? Daily motivation on instagram, or reading the success boards here. Keeping my goals in mind and reminding myself of how far I've come already. Celebrating little victories, enjoying things that are not food. It's worked so far, and I'm 49lbs down so far!
  • andrea4736
    andrea4736 Posts: 211 Member
    edited March 2017
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    For me, it's all about the mental part of it. I made excuse after excuse until I was mentally ready to do this. Once I stopped complicating things and quit feeling sorry for myself, it has been fairly easy to lose thus far.

    As far as the rest goes, once I was mentally ready to do what I already knew I needed to do, none of that other stuff happened. I stopped and started a dozen times before this time but until I was mentally ready, I never had a chance in hell of succeeding.
  • 1234newman
    1234newman Posts: 31 Member
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    I am possibly a multiple of the age of some here. I'd like to think that finally I am getting to know some of life's real rules, albeit late in life - thanks to Peter Druck's book too :)

    My weight gain over years was for a combination of reasons. However, all of those reasons come back to the brain, either because of the attitudes, usually self criticism that went on in my head, or because I was more ignorant then I ever imagined on the calorie intake.

    MFP is a wonderful resource. It helps me to overcome the bad old habits -but they once thought good info, eg heaps of dairy :(

    'If it is going to be it has to be me'. However, sustained, healthy change and enjoyment of life are greatly enabled by professional counselling and by mindfulness in my opinion.

    http://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work
  • Verdenal
    Verdenal Posts: 625 Member
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    What percentage of successful weight loss and maintenance is mental, do you think?

    --Almost 100%

    How much of your success do you attribute to being psychologically in the 'right' place?

    --70%. The other 30% is being in environments that supported my efforts to lose weight or maintain. When I'm in situations in which I'm busy, not depressed or overly stressed and have no easy access to junk food, or simply too much food, I always do better. When I'm bored, idle, unhappy, surrounded by other people who are not health-conscious and high-calorie food is readily available, I always do worse.

    How easily are you derailed or spurred on by thoughts and feelings in your mind?

    --Very easily, and it's gotten worse as I've become older. When I was young, it was much easier to turn my mind away from thoughts of food and to stay on track. I considered it a fun challenge. During one period I cut out all sugar and very fatty foods for three years just to see if I could. Now, instead of a challenge, I see self-deprivation. It's the same behavior, but my mental state colors it. The fact that it's "only mental" doesn't make it easier to counter.

    --I find that being aware of my tendency to engage in emotional eating doesn't help stop me. Supposedly, self-awareness helps you interrupt negative behavior, not me, not really. There may also be physiological reasons why at times I seem to be able to withstand hunger less well than in the past.

    --I should say that I've never been clinically overweight, so I've never have huge amounts to lose for health reasons, but the "vanity" pounds have always mattered to me. But it's harder when you don't actually have to lose weight to save your life and easy to undermine yourself when you think you're just being vain and you should let yourself go like so many people around you.


    Do you think we almost give ourselves permission to succeed/fail/fall off the wagon?

    --I try not to use that metaphor, I'm not a drunk. I have to eat to live. Although I eat too much of the wrong things I don't characterize myself as "abusing" food. On special holidays, I expect to indulge. It seems self-punishing to stick to a strict diet when everyone else is eating delicious, enticing foods and the occasion is cause for celebration. At other times, I act in the moment when I make the wrong choice. What bothers me, as previously noted, is that I'm aware in the moment of making the wrong choice and still going ahead. Also, life is short, I love food, and live in a city in which there are thousands of options every day.

    Why do we do that?!

    --Current studies say that willpower is a limited resource. It's hard to conquer your will if you don't want to do something. You should always rely on structure and routine to enhance your efforts instead of will power.


    What strategies have you used to successfully avoid falling into that trap?

    --When I do want to stay weight-conscious, I weigh myself frequently, track what I eat, take a good look at myself in the mirror. I try to be active, which makes me more body- and weight-conscious. When I have control over my environment, I don't bring into it foods that cause me to over-indulge. I bring only healthy, but not very exciting foods. If I want a treat, I have to go out for it.
  • mburgess458
    mburgess458 Posts: 480 Member
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    It's a mental thing for me also. I had to start thinking about food in a different way. I had to stop eating until I was uncomfortably full. I had to stop mindlessly snacking. Think about food/eating like a thin person and you end up a thin person.
  • yskaldir
    yskaldir Posts: 202 Member
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    100% because eating is a conscious action.
    How much of your success do you attribute to being psychologically in the 'right' place?
    I'd say 100% or close enough.
    How easily are you derailed or spurred on by thoughts and feelings in your mind?
    Not very easily.
    Do you think we almost give ourselves permission to succeed/fail/fall off the wagon?
    Some people undoubtedly do.
    Why do we do that?!
    Because it's easy, and there are enough "sympathetic", "nice" people around to tell us we need to be body positive or whatever platitude they sprout.
    What strategies have you used to successfully avoid falling into that trap?
    You just have to realize you are solely responsible for your own actions.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    I think it will vary person to person, but for me, it's ALL mental. If I'm in the right frame of mind, everything else is pretty easy. If not, then it's just a matter of time before everything goes sideways.

    As for strategies... right now I'm thinking a lot about cost/benefit. I want to make "good" choices really easy and "bad" choices really hard. I want good foods available and ready, and bad foods harder to get... especially at home which is where I struggle the most. I'm trying to get in workouts earlier in the day when my motivation is higher, rather than trying to force myself later in the day when I'd rather be on the couch with the TV clicker in one hand and a box of nutty bars in the other.

    It's a work in progress.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    100% mental for me. Once my mind was on board, my body had no choice but to follow.
  • girlgroves
    girlgroves Posts: 235 Member
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    Thanks everyone - some really good tips and strategies here - just what I think I needed today :)

    Got to get my head back on it and keep moving forwards. I'm going to borrow some of your ideas of you don't mind?! Thank you!
  • Verdenal
    Verdenal Posts: 625 Member
    edited March 2017
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    mburgess458 wrote: »
    Think about food/eating like a thin person and you end up a thin person.

    Yes, you need to try adjust your mental state, but as a formerly effortlessly thin person I can attest that thin people often don't think about it. There's no need. If you are losing weight you have to add a thought process that you may have to maintain for the rest of your life.

    Having to think and plan and persuade yourself to make good choices and forgive yourself when you fall down takes mental energy.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Don't know what % it is but w/o the mental conviction to stick w/your plan (whatever it is) and the determination and patience to see it thru, no weightloss or body reconfiguration program can succeed.

    I know that I could have never lost 36# (196 to 160) and reduced my BF% down to 12% (from over 25%) in the past 9 months w/o such a mental perspective.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Great thread! It should be stickied!
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    C'mon, people. The only correct answer is Yogi Berra's. To paraphrase:

    "Maintaining is 90% mental. The other half is physical."
  • JohnnyPenso
    JohnnyPenso Posts: 412 Member
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    ^^^Tree'd because I was going to say it's 100% mental and 20% diet, because sometimes you need more than 100% effort to overcome your personal barriers :D

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