Stick it to the Man, Give back to Yourself
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MzFury
Posts: 283 Member
Almost every day on MFP, I see a friend or forum topics despairing over weight loss, talking about "giving up", frustrated. I actually blame modern commercial culture for this, namely the perpetuation of ultra-skinny model images while pretty normal-sized women model "plus" clothing, and a continual focus on image - all with the goal of getting us to buy some crap that we don't need. Paired with that is of course our fast-food and ultra-gluttonous culture that needs to sell us crap that naturally tastes good to us because it's sweet, soft, salty, creamy, enhanced with some kind of flavor enhancers, that will keep us fat and more and more desperate to be thin and buying more crap to try to get to some unattainable ideal.
Making lifestyle changes towards smart, wholesome foods (most days, most meals) and near-daily vigorous activity need to be about exactly how much you want to be alive, how many colds you want to avoid, how much constipation you'd like to never have again, how much energy you could use mid-afternoon, how awesome it feels to jump, squat, kick, dance, swim, bike... without pain, heavy breathing or stress, how many years you want to add to your life, how much you would miss - or have missed - someone who dropped dead too young, whether it was from a painfully cruel disease, an accident or crime - or food and lifestyle choices with mortal consequences.
You'll do yourself a massive favor if you at least TRY to remove every false motivation that has to do with a number falling on a scale (qualification: this is not discounting the importance of weight loss to health, especially with clinically obese people) and/or a vision of yourself that has more to do with what some jerks are trying to sell us than with your own real beauty, which is a reality right here and now. It's probably the case that if you start at 280 pounds, drop 30, even 50, working out hard and making good choices, your 250, 230-pound self is fitter - medically and athletically - than someone else's lazy, junk-eating 180, 150-pound self. Just a for-example.
So keep with it today and every day. If you fail to plan, if you eat some junk, if you miss some workouts, just remember how much better off you are as someone who HAS been planning, eating well, working out, and come right back to it. Life's gonna do that. But once you find what usually works for you, it will be easier and easier to stick with it, come back to it, and keep your momentum going for your whole long life.
Making lifestyle changes towards smart, wholesome foods (most days, most meals) and near-daily vigorous activity need to be about exactly how much you want to be alive, how many colds you want to avoid, how much constipation you'd like to never have again, how much energy you could use mid-afternoon, how awesome it feels to jump, squat, kick, dance, swim, bike... without pain, heavy breathing or stress, how many years you want to add to your life, how much you would miss - or have missed - someone who dropped dead too young, whether it was from a painfully cruel disease, an accident or crime - or food and lifestyle choices with mortal consequences.
You'll do yourself a massive favor if you at least TRY to remove every false motivation that has to do with a number falling on a scale (qualification: this is not discounting the importance of weight loss to health, especially with clinically obese people) and/or a vision of yourself that has more to do with what some jerks are trying to sell us than with your own real beauty, which is a reality right here and now. It's probably the case that if you start at 280 pounds, drop 30, even 50, working out hard and making good choices, your 250, 230-pound self is fitter - medically and athletically - than someone else's lazy, junk-eating 180, 150-pound self. Just a for-example.
So keep with it today and every day. If you fail to plan, if you eat some junk, if you miss some workouts, just remember how much better off you are as someone who HAS been planning, eating well, working out, and come right back to it. Life's gonna do that. But once you find what usually works for you, it will be easier and easier to stick with it, come back to it, and keep your momentum going for your whole long life.
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AND OH YEAH, QUIT SMOKING, TOO, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. You only get to live this life once, don't line the pockets of the ultra-rich for the privilege of checking out early or suffering for decades with preventable illness.0
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Right on!
I'm here to motivate others as well as myself. It is possible to attain a healthy lifestyle by establishing healthy habits! Sure, I'm not at my goal weight, but I'm not giving up! It's harder to lose for me being 20-25lbs away from my goal... so slow and steady will get me there! I'm weight training and eating as close to natural foods as I can get.
I can't stress healthful eating enough.. it has a HUGE impact on your moods, energy levels and everything inside and out! Lean Cuisines aren't always the answer. MAKE your meals from real food, and if possible, skip the drive-thru!
You'll be so glad you did, I promise!
Much love and support to everyone out there giving it their all, even on their bad days!
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Yeah, Hungry Tuna! What you said! and one more thing regarding the original sentiment... the more listless, depressed, constipated, flu-ish you are, the more OTC and prescription CRAP you might buy, putting your hard-earned cash again in the pockets of people who just gain from your misery. Not to mention buying diet aids. Keep more of your money for fun and important things! And seriously - with up to 20 pounds more I COULD lose (and wanting to gain a few pounds of muscle), the reality for ME is that I am very happy with where I am RIGHT NOW, TODAY, because of how great I feel, including having a better body image - if I don't lose another pound, I will be plenty happy, as long as I continue treating myself right (which, I know, will actually mean burning more pounds of fat, anyhow).0
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I 100% agree with that too. I'm happy today, as long as I don't gain! LOL But my health is something I am proud of. I don't take a multivitamin because I get nearly everything I need from the foods I eat! Although I do take 2 supplements: B-12 and Potassium. Both to support a healthy nervous system (for my sciatica) and the B-12 mainly because I don't eat land animals. Anywho, I'm glad we're in this together, happy and healthy, motivating others as well as ourselves!
Kudos!0 -
I sooooooo agree! I am so proud that you said this and I hope as folk grow in their journey they eventually learn all that you said!
I read somewhere once that sometimes you have to remove meida from yourself to reprogram your mind...yes that means magazines, some tv and music videos!!! Because if you bombard yourself with these images constantly you begin to think even subconciouly that is how you are to look!!!!! Those are false images!
Don't go by other standards but what is good for your body! God made us all wonderfully...so what is 'your' wonderful??? Seek it out and you will be happy and content when you find it!! Happy Hunting!!!!!!!0 -
YES - exactly!
I read somewhere once that sometimes you have to remove meida from yourself to reprogram your mind...yes that means magazines, some tv and music videos!!! Because if you bombard yourself with these images constantly you begin to think even subconciouly that is how you are to look!!!!! Those are false images!
The older I get the more I feel like I see every day what a bunch of predictable biological creatures we are. No wonder the performance magicians have so much success. One thing the human animal definitely does is absorb, believe, repeat and reflect what it sees and hears - it's part of our survival, socialization - blend in, be like each other - but my God is it insidious, and dangerous in a world where our socialization is about a lot more than how people survived thousands of years ago - learning from a tribe, becoming what you see and hear. And the internet's only made it worse - the speed with which people latch onto and propagate an unsubstantiated story or rumor is really demonstrated to a crazy extreme now that we have this giant ocean of direct, immediate, multi-media social interaction available. I feel like I can now feel it when my brain is doing this kind of thing, which I guess is a step in the right direction... Just gotta keep fighting the good fight!0 -
I just wanted to say thanks for this motivating thread. I myself have been having a hard time. I've lost 33 pounds already but I'm still so far away from goal that when I look in the mirror, I can't possibly imagine myself thin and healthy, which in turn makes me want to eat, not exercise and just give up. I'm going to read this every time I need a pick-me-up!!
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