Random Idea that Might be useful

hellnative

tl;dr

See bolded paragraph.

Hi!

I'm currently in pursuit of losing 40lbs, been at it for just over 2 weeks now and I think it's going well (haven't weighed myself yet, gonna do it once/month). I've been very fit in the past and about 8 years ago I put on 42lbs (over the course of a few years), as soon as i saw I was approaching 200lbs I decided to do something about it and proceeded to get back down to around 155lbs (my natural weight), which took approximately 5 months. I'm quite fortunate that I was always very fit and slim from a young age, right up to my early 30s (which is when the weight came on), so it's actually quite easy for me to do this; I'm finding it as easy, if not easier this time around. For me, the hard part is maintaining the goal weight, and avoiding that all-too-often mindset of, "I've finished."

Anyway, this got me thinking about what it is that makes it harder for some people than others. BTW, I'm sure there are many reasons for this and the answer isn't simple, if there even is an answer.

So having read lots of forums, and heard many stories etc. I've come to the conclusion that one of the biggest factors to people giving up is impatience; we all want to see results right away! and if something is really hard for us (particularly during the intial period) and we can't physically SEE results, then we get discouraged and quit.

We ALL know deep down that this takes TIME, so we should prepare ourselves mentally for it to do so, instead of letting ourselves get carried away with unrealistic expectations, and unsustainable routines.

It made me think about what we can do to get ourselves in the mindset that it's a long game, and not a race to the 'finish.' So I've come up with something we can do right before we start on any big weight-loss journey....

Let's say your goal is to lose 100lbs. Find yourself a bag, preferably an opaque one, and gather together 100 balls (perhaps marbles, grapes, or even toffees; whatever); fill the bag with these 100 balls, feel the weight of it, size it up, and get a real sense of what it looks and feels like. Now, take out 2-3 of the balls from the bag, and look at it now. Does it feel any lighter in your hand? Does it look any different? The answer will almost certainly be 'no.' Repeat this as many times as it takes until you can SEE a clear difference in the volume of the bag. I haven't actually tried this, but I'd imagine it'd take at least 20 (if not more) less balls in the bag for you to visibly see a difference (if it's less, then great!).

I think the vast majority of people (myself included) want to SEE physical changes in our body's appearance. This takes TIME, more time than we have the patience for. So I think this could be a good way to train our mindset BEFORE starting, to realise that a few days/1 week/1 month/2-3 months, even, probably isn't going to reveal itself in the mirror (particularly if we're looking at ourselves every single day. Once we understand how many balls it took to see a noticeable difference in the appearance of the bag, we can avoid being so harsh on ourselves when we don't see any change after a relative short amount of time.

We KNOW we took 2 balls out at the start, so we KNOW the bag is lighter, it's going in the direction we want it to, but we can't yet SEE a difference. As I said, we could get to -20 balls and still struggle to see anything REALLY noticeable. If we're losing 2lb/week that would be TEN whole weeks of this journey, so even after more than 2 months, it's possible that you won't be able to SEE much of a change (though you might feel lighter). Ten weeks is an extreme example, and perhaps you'll be able to see a difference before then, but having done the bag excersise, you won't panic because you know that at 25, 30, however many balls removed it took, you were suddenly able to see a clear difference.

I think it would be best to actually physically do this, rather than just imagine it. I think it could really have an impact on your expectations, as well as keeping a check on you getting either carried away, or discouraged.

Just to say, if we're looking at ourselves every single day, examining our body from all angles etc. it's going to be harder to notice a change. i would personally recommend weighing yourself once a week (as a maximum), but once/fortnight, or even once a month would be better to help with this, unless you're not counting calories in a military fashion, in which case you probably want to keep track to ensure you have the balance right.

Anyway, this may or may not work for people, but I thought it would be a good visualization exercise to remind yourself just how many balls (pounds) it takes, and just how much time it's going to take.

Melly045

Love this!