Who's winning at Mental Toughness? Need no excuses stories.

adoreme214

CONFESSION: So it's been a little bit over a week since utilizing MFP. I completed the 7 day kickstart your metabolism on JMBR successfully (8lbs in 7 days) and the very next morning droped off. This is true to form for me =( Everytime I get a hint of success I revert backwards. Complete mental sabatoge. I know this yet it never changes. I haven't taken a nose dive on my food intake but the workouts have come to a complete STOP! I have allowed the excuses of lack of time (which I have plenty - single, no kids) or back pain (legitimate) to stop me. Ironically I'm going to have back pain doing the work or not doing the work (the fatter I get). I'm determined not to let this stumble be a fall. I'm up and dusting myself off. If any of you have perservered through the mental BS shout out. I need MFP famiy no excuses/support stories!

Captain_Tightpants

Oh hell yeah. It's a bumpy ride alright. I used to do the "just start again tomorrow" philosophy, but then I realized it was complete self-sabotaging BS - you should start again every meal, every minute even. Every single action you perform is a new chance to do it right.

I spent much of my life yo-yo dieting. My new advice to anyone and everyone is to go slower. Gentle, sustainable, lifelong changes ftw. If you keep falling off badly and having to climb back on, it probably means you're going at it too hard, trying to make changes that are too rapid or extreme. Slow and steady wins the mental race.

krisiepoo

Sorry, can't give you any good stories because I'm here d/t mental sabotage as well -- Everytime I start doing well I do something to stop it right in it's tracks.

Good luck to you, I hope you kick butt this time!

AwesomelyAmber

In the end... it's NEVER about all those times that you started the journey, the times you fell short, cheated on yourself, or what have you. In the end...it's about the time that you FINISHED. The time that you said "Enough is enough, I am worth this!" and got it done. :flowerforyou:

blonde71

I must have started this journey towards better health at least a dozen times before. I always gave a half-hearted attempt and wondered why my results were lukewarm, at best. Once I made the decision that I was going to do this or die trying, things just fell into place.

The important thing is that you're here now and that's all that really matters.

MoveTheMountain

CONFESSION: So it's been a little bit over a week since utilizing MFP. I completed the 7 day kickstart your metabolism on JMBR successfully (8lbs in 7 days) and the very next morning droped off. This is true to form for me =( Everytime I get a hint of success I revert backwards. Complete mental sabatoge. I know this yet it never changes. I haven't taken a nose dive on my food intake but the workouts have come to a complete STOP! I have allowed the excuses of lack of time (which I have plenty - single, no kids) or back pain (legitimate) to stop me. Ironically I'm going to have back pain doing the work or not doing the work (the fatter I get). I'm determined not to let this stumble be a fall. I'm up and dusting myself off. If any of you have perservered through the mental BS shout out. I need MFP famiy no excuses/support stories!

So many of us have been where you are - and I can sympathize with your back pain, because if I *don't* work out, within 2 weeks my back will be killing me. It's only when I get in decent shape and stay there that my back pain goes away.

Here's an idea to break out of your on/off cycle... have you considered starting more slowly? I'm betting that dropping so much so quickly in a week probably took its toll. You might really need a rest, and recovery is really important.

Also, the nature of a 1-week program like that is that you can see the 'light at the end of the tunnel', so your mental toughness is focused on that goal - but once you make it, you don't have enough other goals/reasons to keep you going.

Maybe try a longer program, one that takes months (I'm a huge fan of P90-X, and no, I'm not affiliated in any way - just a guy who loves that workout routine, and has gotten really great results). But I think the big thing is, try to change your thinking about your workouts... you don't want to go into it thinking "I need to get through this <week/month/whatever>", but think about making exercise part of your regular daily routine. Find something that you really like, and give yourself a lot of positive reinforcement when when you keep it up. Start slowly so you don't hate it, and just improve over time. It's a journey, not a destination. :happy:

debussyschild

For me, what keeps me going is keeping my long-term goals in mind. Go ahead, look in the mirror, and imagine who you will look if you KEEP GOING. You are the only advocate your body and your health has. Be it's caretaker, so to speak. A great workout will make you feel accomplished and powerful! Following your meal plan gives you control and gives you something to work for. More importantly, remember this is a journey. A lifelong endeavor to be healthy! The results will come if you do the work, but remember that the work never ends... It's a lifestyle. Treat it that way and you'll be in a much better, at ease, frame of mind.

LoraF83

CONFESSION: So it's been a little bit over a week since utilizing MFP. I completed the 7 day kickstart your metabolism on JMBR successfully (8lbs in 7 days) and the very next morning droped off. This is true to form for me =( Everytime I get a hint of success I revert backwards. Complete mental sabatoge. I know this yet it never changes. I haven't taken a nose dive on my food intake but the workouts have come to a complete STOP! I have allowed the excuses of lack of time (which I have plenty - single, no kids) or back pain (legitimate) to stop me. Ironically I'm going to have back pain doing the work or not doing the work (the fatter I get). I'm determined not to let this stumble be a fall. I'm up and dusting myself off. If any of you have perservered through the mental BS shout out. I need MFP famiy no excuses/support stories!

I've been where you are. Many, many, many times. This time is different - I want this. I really, really want to be fit. I want it so bad that I will wake up at 4:30am so I can go running. I will take 2 crazy-hard spin classes a week. I will sign up for 5ks, mud-runs, and even a half-marathon so I have motivation to keep going. I am loving the awesome changes in my body. I light up every time a friend, co-worker, or acquaintance mentions my weight loss and how good I look. I can buy clothes in any store I want to. That keeps me going. And I have made sure that I keep eating the foods I like (sometimes, in moderation). I simply follow MFP. It's really that simple.

Stop doing the fad diets, "kickstart" programs, etc. Use MFP. Track what you eat. Exercise.

You don't need anything special or fancy. I've lost 38lbs by eating less and moving more. There are thousands of other people on here that have done the same thing. You can do this too as long as you want it bad enough.

NamibianRose

I know how you feel. I use to be the same way, once I got a hint of success, I felt like I could 'loosen up' ha! That's why I spent three years and only lost 20lbs, but anyhow.

I've noticed this time around that I have a completely different mindset. I try to only weigh myself once a month now (ticker is HOPEFULLY VERY OFF ), that way I can't sabotage myself either way (sometimes I want to give up if I don't see results, sometimes I want to slack off when I do...lose-lose).

Also, I try to only concentrate on today. I don't think about tomorrow or next week. Just today. It's easier for me to NOT eat this or that when I think in these terms. Can I resist this for just today? Sure, no problem! Other times I feel like, no, I really have to have it, and I let myself and I don't feel guilty.

As for exercise, I consider it in terms the same way as my job. It's something I just HAVE to do. I HATE getting up in the morning and going to work! (my job isn't the most ideal situation at the moment) But I have no choice, I have to do it. And just like work, I might take a few days off here and there, call in sick here and there, but in the end, I go to work more often than I skip out (for obvious reasons) and I think of working out the same way. Even though there have been times after taking a few days off of work I don't want to go back!! But is that realistic? Nope, I can't just never go to work again, and the same goes for exercise, to me. Even if I take a few days off of working out (whatever the reason) I know it's not a permanent situation and as much as I hate it, I have to get back on it. I have a set time that I have set aside for doing my workouts, sometimes I procrastinate until the last minute and start a few minutes late, and sometimes I get it done early, but once that time comes, no matter how I feel, I know it has to be done. Then afterwards I pat myself on the back and feel amazing LOL.

Hope that helps. I'm no expert, obviously, but this mindset has really been working for me.