Obsession

dujennifer

I started a fitness game to lose weight and have been really successful in the last couple months. Down 9 pounds since July 1. Yay! One problem: I am obsessed. Help!!! I jump on the scale several times a day, I freak out every time I eat something that isn't part of my plan, and I beat myself up if I don't lose any weight in a week. What do I do to break the obsession and just enjoy living healthy to the best of my ability?

dujennifer

I started a fitness game to lose weight and have been really successful in the last couple months. Down 9 pounds since July 1. Yay! One problem: I am obsessed. Help!!! I jump on the scale several times a day, I freak out every time I eat something that isn't part of my plan, and I beat myself up if I don't lose any weight in a week. What do I do to break the obsession and just enjoy living healthy to the best of my ability?

kimarm

Dear Dujennifer,
Congrats on the weight loss. It sounds like you have the tools to be successful. Try giving your scale (physically remove it from your presence) to a someone and only let them let you use it once a week. Trust yourself to stay on track. You know you can. You've been doing it. See how it goes for a week. If your still successful try another week. By the end of three weeks you should retrain yourself.
It's just a suggestion, best of luck to you!

kimarm

neeterskeeter

I would venture to guess that maybe you're doing it more for appearance's sake than for all the right reasons? I don't mean that to be harsh; I've had the same thing happen to me, where suddenly I get into shape and drop some pounds and people say "wow, you look good", and all of a sudden, it's almost a vanity thing. But the problem is, freaking out like that is an extreme way to be and I think it can too often lead to either an eating/ personality disorder or-- this is what happened to me-- you swing back into the other extreme and you don't care for awhile.

I think you should focus on internal rewards like feeling great, being happier/ less stressed, and knowing that you are healthy and you will live longer etc. Those things are hard to enjoy if you're freaking out about every little bite of food. Try to find confidence from within and tell yourself "I'm damn sexy, whether I follow my plan perfectly today or not!" Then when someone compliments you, you'll appreciate it, but you won't get that high off it as much, because you'll realize it's a temporary euphoria and nothing that compares with the long-lasting euphoria of really loving yourself inside and out no matter what size you are.

That's my lecture for the day, now go relax and enjoy life! Good luck

Anna_Banana

Dear Dujennifer,
Congrats on the weight loss. It sounds like you have the tools to be successful. Try giving your scale (physically remove it from your presence) to a someone and only let them let you use it once a week. Trust yourself to stay on track. You know you can. You've been doing it. See how it goes for a week. If your still successful try another week. By the end of three weeks you should retrain yourself.
It's just a suggestion, best of luck to you!

kimarm

Yep, Get rid of the scale. Buy a tape measure and limit yourself to only weekly measurements. Try to find a hobby that gives you something else to think about.

carak2000

I definitely agree with the advise about the scale. However, if you are really disciplined about your diet right now, I would say take advantage of it. It's hard to stay on track all the time, so let yourself slip up once in a while, but if you are gung ho about eating right, I see no reason to suppress that. It'll just be about finding the balance between almost always eating well and not freaking if don't once in a while. Good luck!

Families_R_Forever

Go to this link...Viviakay posted this a long time ago and she answers this perfectly along with other great advice. That is why she labeled it The answers to The questions. Read it, it's good stuff.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

dujennifer

Thanks for the advice everyone. It is time to appreciate the non-weight related rewards of healthy living and to evict that scale from the house for a while.