Which belief or beliefs have held you back from health/fitness goals in the past?

timtam163 · July 2017

For example when I believe that weight is tied to my self-worth, I either yo-yo diet or go in denial about how unhealthy I am/look. I have to confront and overcome that belief to see results.

What do you feel holds/held you back from achieving your health goals?

caco_ethes · July 2017

I used to believe "it doesn't matter how many calories you eat as long as they're the right foods". This kept me on many a fad diet while simultaneously learning to consume an average daily intake far above what my body could burn.

Now i know that calories DO matter. I'm tracking my cals and macros, and finally seeing real success.

goldthistime · July 2017

There was a time when I believed that only weak willed people lost weight slowly. I was all in or all out.

Jdismybug1 · July 2017

I used to think if I got the weight off quickly by over exercising and not eating enough I would be able to maintain it later. Which is obviously not the truth.
I've learned that I can eat and be satisfied on healthy foods well within my calorie deficit to lose weight. That I'll have to be conscious of my lifelong choices to maintain my Goal weight (when I get there) and I'm okay with that.

estherdragonbat · July 2017

I used to think that eating any rich/fattening food would immediately scuttle any progress I'd made during the week.

InkAndApples · July 2017

That I was "meant" to look this way, I subscribed to the setpoint theory of weight and I remember telling people that the women in my family were all shaped like this and for me it lose 10lbs would be a full time job because I'd have to put so much effort in.

That eating to lose weight would trigger my eating disorder - now this one is sort of true, it has in the past but when I looked at the reasons why I found out it was due to deprivation mindset, the idea of eating "correctly" and an all or nothing mentality. MFP has me feeling mentally healthier about food than I think I ever have. It's taken away the fear and stripped food down to just a series of numbers. This is awesome.

That I hate most exercise, and that only a certain "type" of person does cardio or joins a gym. Think "I only run when I'm chased" type mentality. Oh how things have changed! I just bought new running shoes last week, didn't need them but I have several distinct palettes of colour in my gym wear drawer now and it annoyed me that my shoes clashed.

(Edited to fix 6am typos)

Lourdesong · July 2017

That science was on the verge of solving the obesity problem with some silver bullet, whether it be a pill or discovering that a certain common ingredient in foods was the culprit, or whatever. Some solution other than eat less, move more. I had hoped, anyway.

dutchandkiwi · July 2017

I believed I was genetically not blessed with fitness genes and that because my legs/thighs/bottom were big I simply was not cut out to exercise. Plus you know allergies meant I could not run hike etc.

I also believed I did not overeat and that I got bigger just on air. I know now I was somewhat delusional a about what wind I was taking in

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld · July 2017

That I needed to not do a thing on rest days. Now I walk 5 miles or cycle 20 miles on my running rest days.

slimgirljo15 · July 2017

I used to believe I had to follow a diet perfectly..and of course when I wasnt perfect at it I'd throw the towel in. Once allowed more leyway and wasn't so tough on myself, I found success.

JeromeBarry1 · July 2017

It is obvious that the thing which held me back was a smug satisfaction that I could sit all day, maintain 270 lb, and only experience the deleterious effects of high blood pressure which was managed with only the smallest, cheapest dose of lisinopril. When my doctor informed me that those deleterious effects of maintaining 270 had grown into bad cholesterol numbers, I finally awoke to the need to lose weight and exercise.

Meaganinsardinia · July 2017

I believed I couldn't run because I inherited these non athletic looking shaped knees from my Dad. His family had long since agreed that they don't carry the genes for athletics endeavours. Well I am training for a half marathon and I have run 16km so far with no trouble from these little chubby joints.

Niki_Fitz · July 2017

Sometimes I have the thought that nobody "sees" me in my life. The result is a "why bother" attitude and using food to comfort myself.

I've slipped up on my calorie goals having this thought the last few days! Thanks for this post and this question. I will be working to shift these thoughts.

I know that, really, it is not about how I look. It's about how it FEELS to be well: light, fit, less pain, comfortable. So whoever sees me or doesn't is truly irrelevant because I am working on my goals to achieve a state of wellness, and looks are secondary.

timtam163 · July 2017

wellnesschaser wrote: »

I know that, really, it is not about how I look. It's about how it FEELS to be well: light, fit, less pain, comfortable. So whoever sees me or doesn't is truly irrelevant because I am working on my goals to achieve a state of wellness, and looks are secondary.

This one is SO hard to let go of,. Society encourages expressing shallowness rather than changing it, and normalizes tuning out your body's signals instead of tuning in. The internal work of health is so important.

As for "why bother"... YES. If you only value yourself for how you think others see you, it holds you back from making changes that others don't see. It's great to get validation from others sometimes, but (cheesy i know) it's important to validate yourself.

Alisonswim46 · July 2017

All ironman triathletes are buff and lean. And I was scared and nervous at the start of the race that I wasn't lean enough or strong enough to even be worthy of starting.

Did my first one and just really loved that all types of bodies were out there and out there doing an amazing job!

kyubeans · July 2017

This thought held me back for the past five years: I'm meant to be this size and shape, and I should just love myself this way and there's no need for me to change.

I'm sure there are people for whom that is actually true, but it wasn't true for me. I was over-eating and unhealthy, and using this thought to mask how unhappy I really was.

Tabbycat00 · July 2017

I used to tie being the "smallest" in the room to my identity as though I had nothing to offer other than being the anorexic girl. It was a very sad way to live.

vnb_208 · July 2017

Loose skin held me back for years ! Now I'm just embracing the best I can I rather be healthy with loose skin than morbidly obese again!

__TMac__ · July 2017

I believed that my emotional state was inextricably linked to food. Sad? Eat. Stressed? Eat. Angry? Eat. Now I can see that they don't have to be linked. I find that exercise actually improves, instead of masks, my mental state. Food is a way to treat myself well -- for short-term fueling, satisfaction and satiety, and long-term health.