Attitude - It's not just about counting calories

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otterleee
otterleee Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have decided that I feel bad about my weight, and that's ok. I should embrace the bad feeling and let it motivate me. I shouldn't let a "body positive" social movement be my excuse to stay unhealthy. I shouldn't rationalize that if I can just learn to love my "curves" then everything will be ok. I shouldn't try to force myself to love a body that I'm not happy with. I am going to do this so that I can love myself, and I'm not going to wallow in wishing that the weight will just come off by itself. I feel bad, yes, but I've decided that it's no longer going to STOP me getting healthy--it's going to START me getting healthy. Who's in?

Replies

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Preach on, sister!
  • ISweat4This
    ISweat4This Posts: 653 Member
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    Believe in you!
  • asviles
    asviles Posts: 56 Member
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    Negative emotions can either be buried or channeled. Strive to better yourself and let those negative emotions motivate you rather than weigh you down.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    Being honest with yourself about yourself is a great attribute... in weight loss and in life!
  • gearhead426hemi
    gearhead426hemi Posts: 919 Member
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    Good for you! I think living choosing to be healthy is just as much mental as it is physical. You have to really want it to stay focused and make it a lifestyle. Good luck on your journey!
  • tgcakef
    tgcakef Posts: 111 Member
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    Attitude is definitely important.

    For you, a more negative attitude works. For me, a more positive attitude - loving myself as I am - works. If it works for you, it works for you.

    Note: positive, and negative are quite simplistic in regards to this, but it works well enough.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    jennybearlv wrote: »
    Naw. I prefer to love my body enough that I strive to make it healthier and last longer.

    Yes!!!!
  • tabletop_joe
    tabletop_joe Posts: 455 Member
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    Good luck hitting you goals! The motivated honeymoon phase is great and you'll accomplish a lot with that first burst!

    I just want to say: Love unconditional is the only solution, because next time it might not be your weight that bothers you.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    You should love yourself regardless of you weight... losing weight won't automatically make life ok...

    I don't think OP has said anything about hating self or about life not being OK and expecting it to get better with weight loss or anything like that.

    OP said that they didn't feel good about their weight.

    Are you projecting possibly?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2017
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    jennybearlv wrote: »
    Naw. I prefer to love my body enough that I strive to make it healthier and last longer.

    This.

    Also
    otterleee wrote: »
    I have decided that I feel bad about my weight, and that's ok.

    I did feel unhappy about my weight and dislike how I looked and how out of shape I was when I decided to lose (I'm in maintenance now, although I'm probably going to focus on losing a bit more, for vanity reasons, eventually).

    What I did not feel was self hatred, like I was bad and horrible and undeserving, because I'd let myself get fat. And that is the message, wherever it came from, that I had to fight within myself, and which was not helpful to me. Not at all.
    I should embrace the bad feeling and let it motivate me.

    If that works for you, that's great. I found that the bad feeling from seeing some awful pictures of myself and seeing how far I was from being able to fit into clothes I used to love to be somewhat motivating, yes. I really don't think this is what people saying that you shouldn't hate yourself for being fat mean. I think feeling shame about my body, wanting to use it as an excuse to hide or feeling that it would be too humiliating to go to the gym are bad things, but the opposite to me is not thinking that I look perfectly fit and fabulous at a size when I do not. I don't think self acceptance = be delusional.
    I shouldn't let a "body positive" social movement be my excuse to stay unhealthy.

    Of course you shouldn't. I was never tempted to do that, but then that social movement is something I know solely from certain circles of the internet. It certainly does not affect my daily life or social circle one little bit. This idea that we live in a world where there's pressure to be fat is puzzling to me. It's certainly not one I've ever lived in. The one I lived in was one where I was quite self critical at the high end of the BMI even though I'd never had a negative medical test and could run a marathon. Unfortunately, that didn't keep me from gaining more weight, but the reason certainly was not some idea that I'd look better or be happier if I got fat.
    I am going to do this so that I can love myself, and I'm not going to wallow in wishing that the weight will just come off by itself. I feel bad, yes, but I've decided that it's no longer going to STOP me getting healthy--it's going to START me getting healthy. Who's in?

    I think you should work on loving yourself regardless of weight (not how your body looks now, but yourself). It's quite possible to hate yourself or your body or be hyper-self-critical when thin, I've been that person.

    But that aside, not wallowing and getting healthy are great sentiments, as is not using feeling bad as an excuse!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    gebeziseva wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    You should love yourself regardless of you weight... losing weight won't automatically make life ok...

    I don't think OP has said anything about hating self or about life not being OK and expecting it to get better with weight loss or anything like that.

    OP said that they didn't feel good about their weight.

    Are you projecting possibly?

    Not in the least, I have a healthy amount of self confidence. But if it struck a nerve...
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
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    gebeziseva wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    You should love yourself regardless of you weight... losing weight won't automatically make life ok...

    I don't think OP has said anything about hating self or about life not being OK and expecting it to get better with weight loss or anything like that.

    OP said that they didn't feel good about their weight.

    Are you projecting possibly?

    OP's exact words were "I am going to do this so that I can love myself", which implies she doesn't already. Maybe she meant she's going to do this so she can love the way she looks, but that's not what she said.

    I echo other posters. Loving yourself isn't about a number on a scale or the way you look. Being in shape won't make you love yourself. It's a whole different issue.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    I loved myself enough to get healthy, but I don't think I showed myself respect when I wasn't taking care of my body.

    I found a sense of respect for myself that I was lacking previously. I respected myself to a degree, but not fully. Because I wasn't proud of my body and what it had become. Taking charge of it and responsibility for it enabled me to get in touch with my own agency. I'd been denying myself that for years and trying to foist it off on a bunch of different things.

    I dabbled with the idea of trying to accept my body for what it was, but there was something deep inside me that knew that wasn't the right solution.

    I don't know that I love my body now, I'm neutral about it maybe. Loose skin and jiggly bits keep it from looking good naked, but it's mine and I own it and no longer feel like a stranger within it. That's something at least. I love what it can do, I love exercising, and I love that I'm taking proper care of it.

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