Fighting "The Blerch"

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YamaMaya1
YamaMaya1 Posts: 49 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
In case you don't know what The Blerch is: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running

To sum it up, that horrible little voice in your head that tells you to quit, to slow down, and to give up. We all fight it each and every day, so what keeps you motivated to give The Blerch the finger?

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  • MamaEngineer
    MamaEngineer Posts: 6 Member
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    Haha, that was a funny cartoon. It holds a lot of truth, too. I'm not a marathon runner by any means but I totally recognize it.

    In my experience, "The Blerch" is triggered mostly by a combination of low self-esteem, shame and regret. For me the most crucial part of starting the weight loss is letting go of those things. I told myself I was not a bad person for being fat, if possible it's a good idea to lose some but if I didn't succeed, that would be OK too.

    And you know what? As soon as I took the pressure off, the weight started coming off in a pretty fast and consistent way. I invested in good habits only because I WANTED too. All external factors (health, vanity, well-intentioned friends and family) went off the priority list.

    Since then, I've encountered the Blerch a few times and I've given in a few times too. But it doesn't linger around for long; as soon as I let go of any shame and regret, he's gone pretty quickly.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
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    Somehow seeing as his toenails apparently fell off I think he needs to listen to his blerch a bit more :(

    I mean there are limits.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Somehow seeing as his toenails apparently fell off I think he needs to listen to his blerch a bit more :(

    That's how you know you're a runner...
  • YamaMaya1
    YamaMaya1 Posts: 49 Member
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    Haha, that was a funny cartoon. It holds a lot of truth, too. I'm not a marathon runner by any means but I totally recognize it.

    In my experience, "The Blerch" is triggered mostly by a combination of low self-esteem, shame and regret. For me the most crucial part of starting the weight loss is letting go of those things. I told myself I was not a bad person for being fat, if possible it's a good idea to lose some but if I didn't succeed, that would be OK too.

    And you know what? As soon as I took the pressure off, the weight started coming off in a pretty fast and consistent way. I invested in good habits only because I WANTED too. All external factors (health, vanity, well-intentioned friends and family) went off the priority list.

    Since then, I've encountered the Blerch a few times and I've given in a few times too. But it doesn't linger around for long; as soon as I let go of any shame and regret, he's gone pretty quickly.

    That's a good way of looking at it. I mostly just tell that Blerch to take a hike and force myself to get my butt in gear :)
  • TechMike
    TechMike Posts: 22 Member
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    Ever since I first read that comic, I can't help but imagine the blerch whenever I want to just sit on the couch, eat junk food and watch sci-fi.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,949 Member
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    Ever since I first read that comic, I can't help but imagine the blerch whenever I want to just sit on the couch, eat junk food and watch sci-fi.

    I hope this happens to me too!
  • redsk
    redsk Posts: 27 Member
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    Muscle Prodigy tracks in my running tracklist help me. It depends whether or not your are open to content - they are a bit cheesy but motivational stuff (that's right, "stuff") tends be cheesy to most of us cynics. Mmmmm cheese.

    I try to establish routes where you have to worry about traffic as little as possible. Then you can let your mind wander without getting worried about being mowed down by a 4x4.

    My most shameful way of motivating myself is to think of the fat lady at work who complains about her weight but eats crap all day and never exercises. I don't want to be that.

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