Narrowing the focus?

jen7eleven

The ironic roadblock that I seem to keep hitting is that after "falling off the wagon" in weight loss efforts, I'll get a jolt of motivation and become very hyped up about all the things I want to do (fitness routines, new recipes, etc) to the point of obsession. I look so far forward and make such big goals. Then I'll get sidetracked for whatever reason, and it's all back downhill from there.

Does anyone else have trouble with this? I want to learn how to scale my goals, efforts, and thoughts to one day or week at a time.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

TenderBranson

This is the same problem New years resolution dieters have. You can't change habits you took a lifetime to build in a day or two. Not even in weeks. It has to be little by little. You want to change everything in one go & you wear yourself thin.

jen7eleven

Right exactly, it's like I'm focused on the pyramid aka final product, but not noticing all of the blocks and work it took to put it together. I'm having trouble adjusting my thought process.

izzydino

I try to take one day at a time. ... that is all one can do

meliad

A diet doesn't have to be all or nothing. If you get distracted and off track just forgive yourself and get back on track. Keep looking a month down the road.

mfpcopine

Plan carefully; to the point where you have to think as little as possible.

Try a form of mindfulness meditation: It trains you to focus on the here and now.

jolaw27

I agree with Izzydino and mellad. Take one day at a time and just keep trying. When I feel I need a boost I watch food documentaries or Biggest Loser on Netflix.

Oh, has anyone seen the Weight of a Nation documentary on HBO. I highly recommend. No, I am not affiliated with HBO, but I love gaining perspective by listening to different stories. They inspire me.

Don't beat yourself up. There are so many forces working against you (i.e. food is EVERYWHERE, AH)...but you have to remember why you embarked on this journey in the first place.

Hope that helps.

Gbelk1

Motivation is the hardest part. At some point we must all decide it is about lifestyle changes. We all must learn it is not about what we cannot eat but what we can. Food must be nurishment and not enjoyment. Exercise must be a way of life in our schedule like everything else we do. Tracking what we eat every day and keeping carbs to a minimum is part of our daily routine just like taking a shower and brushing out teeth. We do not have cancer, are some other deadly sickness we have something we can control with diet, exercise and a lifestyle of good living. Good luck and let's work together to make our lives on earth great.

amymimi12

I totally have the same problem! I'm such an all-or-nothing person, and I go full steam ahead for a while, being super motivated, and then I slip up once or twice - on any part of my food/exercise plan - and I go totally the other direction. I lose motivation and jump back into the cycle of eating to make myself feel better for gaining weight. Vicious cycle. This is a good exercise in self-forgiveness.

I'm training myself to be more forgiving, so I decided at the beginning of May to start a new plan... even 1 month at a time is too far ahead for me to look... so I do weekly goals. I always am trying to eat clean and exercise some, but I have to pick something to focus on so I don't obsess about everything. For the first week, the only thing I tried to be perfect on was drinking 8 cups of water per day. If I slipped up on food or exercise, it was ok because that wasn't this week's goal so I was able to cut myself some slack (but still paying attention to something made me want to keep losing weight). The second week I added the goal of exercising at least 2 hours for the week... you get the idea. Maybe try picking one goal per week and seeing if that focus will help make the other obsessions not be such a big deal. It's worked for me so far, but it has only been 3 weeks... we'll see if I can keep this going longer!