How did you get over the mental blocks?

curvykatie

Hi All,

I know that being mentally ready is a big part of weight loss - and that there can be something going on mentaly that is blocking no matter what you're eating and activity is like.

This is what I am struggling with - something is blocking me mentally and I can't work it out.

How did you do it? Have you got any advice you can share with me (and others) that are struggling with the mental aspect?

Thanks
Katie
xx

Angie_1991

Haven't yet.

ErinBeth7

Patience. If you can master that, then you've got a good foundation for weight loss.

RobinvdM

Eh, I tried for 3 years prior to this year to be mentally ready and couldn't. This year I had just had
enough crying myself to sleep and hating myself and it clicked. I wasn't mentally ready to start walking,
I just did it (and hated every moment of it for the first 2 weeks.) There were sooo many setbacks
during this year - clear down to gall bladder surgery in April, yet I kept at it cause I was seeing progress.
The food aspect was different, I've BEEN ready to eat better for a cpl years, I just didn't know HOW to.
Hooked myself up with an education via online researching graduating into working with a dietitian, and
BAM I think I've got this food stuff down. Sometimes :P

I think you will know you are mentally ready when you don't get sick to your stomach thinking about walking
into a gym you haven't ever stepped foot into before. That was me 2 weeks ago. I now walk in the gym
like I own the place, and apparently my confidence is infectious as the ppl there all know me by name, etc.
(I deny they are paid to have excellent customer service, instead choosing to believe it is just me that
inspires such a memorable name/face.)

You will just have to keep pep talking yourself until you notice you miss doing the working out and eating better.


Good luck!

virichi08

I realized that I had mental blocks and with realizing that I do have them, I made it a point to figure them out, i intentionally looked for them. And once i did that I had to ask myself if those thoughts or feeling were TRUE. And none of them were, so then i worked on figuring out what worked for ME to fight them off. Alot of times i simply had to tell myself to just get up and do what i had to do no matter what i thought or felt.

Ant_the_old_keith_lemon

i got over the "over eating part" by not considering myself as an over eater... i snapped from being a binger to a salad muncher - not considering myself as an overeater meant i had nothing to Stop...

its hard to put it into words really, i woke up and considered mysefl as a healty person and just went on like that...


another example is smoking.... people get stressed out when they try to quit because they consider themselves as a smoker, an not having that fix stresses them out more; if youre not a smoker you cant get stressed out at not having that fix...

KrazyAsianNic

I would like to read some answers to this too.

However, I found that by not stressing that much on my wieght and sort of just living and being happy has really helped me this past month. I haven't been faithful in recording and haven't had time to exercise, yet I've been losing more weight because I have been happy with moving in with my boyfriend and when I don' think about eating healthy I get drawn to healthier options 90% of the time.

squirmmonster

Just accept them and move through them? This morning, I was crying, because I have gained 3-5 lbs or so, after a whole week of Shed and Shred. I know intellectually that it's water, because my calories have NOT been over at all, but it was still emotionally jarring. I didn't know how I was going to cope, and cried for two hours. I wanted to see the scale go down so bad, even just a tiny bit.

So I sat down and talked it out with myself. I set a "small" goal for Christmas. (Small in that the difference between the calories I would eat at that weight, and at this weight, are less than 100/day.) So I decided I'd calculate my calorie deficit from the calories needed to maintain that small goal, so I could keep going. Then, I wrapped my scale in Christmas paper. There's NO WAY I can do Shed and Shred for 30, 60, or 90 days, while on a diet, and not lose weight. So I will weigh myself again at Christmas. Seeing exactly how much I lost will be a little present to myself. Early on in this process, seeing the scale move was vital to keeping me going. I was so scared that nothing was going to happen. But I've lost 30 lbs, and I know that effort = result. I don't need to watch every single pound fall off to know it will happen anymore. I'm good, I'm solid. I'll keep working as hard as I can, and see if I hit my goal, on the date I want to have that goal. I won't drive myself INSANE in the time between. If I'm good, the math all says that I'll reach my goal by Christmas. Even if I don't, SOMEthing will have happened.

So you sometimes just have to be creative like that. Figure it out on your own. Dig the solution deep out of yourself. That's the only way.

mamaomefo

It's sorta like after you start losing weight and you have days/times you want to forget it all...you ask yourself what you really want, and if you really want to undo what you worked so hard to lose. And no one can do it for you but your MFP friends can help you get through some of the tough times. I have some just AWESOME friends here. Hope you can work through the mental questions to determine how bad you want to be smaller :flowerforyou:

Good luck to you!

lyttlewon

I have a hard time with the concept that I am depriving myself of something I enjoy, and justifying that the consequences are worth it. I really struggle with the concept of food for fuel vs. food for pleasure. Right now, I have to allow myself some of both. Maybe I will get to the point where I will indulge less, but I am further a long with it than I used to be.

DesignGrrl

I treat my weight loss like I'm managing a project with a budget (it's kinda what I do with my job). My calorie goal is my budget limit, and I'm not allowed to go over! It's worked great taking the "feelings" aspect out of it and letting the logical part of my brain take control, because seeing it as only numbers makes complete sense for implementing.

Also, I've chosen small goals - I work 10lbs at a time, and I also celebrate when I reach a milestone of 5% total weight lost. Keeps me encouraged!

Even if you aren't seeing results on the scale, if you're changing your behavior, that's still a HUGE victory! Anticipate that it won't be easy at first, know that you can do anything for a day, and that eventually, it gets easier.

On days where I'm struggling (cause I do, trust me), I break it down to just making one good choice at a time (sort of like I tell myself I can do anything for 30 seconds, getting through Jillian Michaels videos... lol). I tell myself, "I CAN find one proper snack or meal to eat now. Just do it this once." or, "I can get up and do this exercise. It's just 30 minutes. Just gotta do it once today." Then it doesn't seem like a whole day of mountains to climb, it's broken down into little hills.

Every good choice with food, exercise, priorities, etc is like dropping a penny in a jar. Day by day, the jar fills up slowly, but consistency is the key, and eventually, you'll fill that jar up!

goblynn

For my entire life I have struggled with HUGE mental blocks including the fear of going hungry, the desire to eat (instant gratification) being stronger than my desire to be in shape, food addiction, etc.

Through MFP, I learned about a Cognitive Therapy book called The Beck's Diet. IT IS AMAZING!!! AND IT FOCUSES ON ALL THE MENTAL ISSUES THE HOLD PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME BACK!!!

I found a copy of the book at a used book store for 2.00. It involved you creating simple tasks and reminders to help you remember what you are doing this for and why you should stick to your plan.

Currently, I am in the chapter of the book where it asks you to fast during lunch. For me, this was a very difficult task. I am the type of person who has to have food w/ them everywhere they go, eat every 1.5-2hrs, and feel "full" after every meal or I go into a panic and binge. When I read that I would have to fast for 6-8 hours I started panicking.. already thinking about how awful it would be. I picked today as my day to skip lunch b/c I knew it would be the hardest (yeah, pretty silly) since it would be the end of the week and everyone at work would be bringing in snacks.

Whelp. It's 4pm. I have an hour and 4 minutes till I can leave. And, much to my surprise I am so close to accomplishing this task. A task I never thought I could do.

I highly recommend this book. It is changing my life. You just have to commit to the tasks involved as each one helps build mental toughness to prepare you for the next step.

I couldn't have fasted today without the plan that the book helped me develop. This is the biggest weight-loss goal I have ever accomplished.

verptwerp

Well, it finally hit me that if anything is going to change, I would have to do the changing ..... no one was going to do it for me ...... I couldn't rely on family & friends, no matter how well-meaning & loving they are ....... so I told no one ...... not even my husband ..... when I began to make changes with my food choices ..... and believe me, they were baby steps !

As I started seeing results, I added a bit of walking into the mix ...... guess I'd lost about 25# before anyone commented ..... and even then I just smiled & said thanks, and didn't get into a conversation about it .....

Best of luck to you :drinker:

salcha76

Love yourself first. I started therapy 6mon ago, and figured out I was used to being the "big girl" so that is the role I played. When i did drop some weight, it was so i was normal mom fat, still way way too heavy.

our tummys don't care what food we put in it, it's in your head. So do you need nurtured, loved, spoiled? Because your tummy doesn't....your tummy just needs fuel for your body, period. Look at yourself, your choices....food symbolizes where we are in life....do you want to be a super sized fast food meal? or a lovely healthy satisfying dinner?

change is not easy, but it is worth it. Repeat positive affirmations. Get positive people in your life. Start a journey on a bus & get the right people on your bus & you'll go far. You can do it. Believe in yourself!