How do you stay focused?

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  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,952 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Just a little tip that my sister gave me that helped...

    You know those days when you just can't seem to eat enough, and you're devouring all the food, and you're thinking "Ah, may as well enjoy it all and start fresh tomorrow"? She told me this "There's no reason to wait until tomorrow to make better choices".

    In other words, the change doesn't have to wait until morning (or the first day of the week or the first day of the month) - sleeping doesn't reset anything, the number and words on the calendar don't mean anything. If you want to be better when you feel out of control, stop immediately, not later. So you ate your calorie goal by lunch? You're way over your calorie goal because those chips at the party looked oh so good? Recognize you've had enough, you won't die, the discomfort isn't THAT bad PLUS its very temporary (you can eat again tomorrow when you aren't over your goal anymore), and stop where you are. Make better choices for the rest of the day!

    Also - you might get to a point where you're thinking about it all the time. Her other tip was to "stop thinking about food". It's kind of true, the more you think about it, the hungrier you are. So plan your meals, know your game plan, think about it if you need to change the plan, but otherwise, tell yourself to stop thinking about it between those times if you start. Do that until it's a habit :)
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    register for a race. something six months from now. it should be easy to find one, as June is prime season for all kinds of races.

    now you've payed money for an event and you need to prepare for it. mark it on your calendar. find a training plan, and fill it into your calendar. you can't lose focus now.
  • LifeInTheBikeLane
    LifeInTheBikeLane Posts: 345 Member
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    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Just a little tip that my sister gave me that helped...

    You know those days when you just can't seem to eat enough, and you're devouring all the food, and you're thinking "Ah, may as well enjoy it all and start fresh tomorrow"? She told me this "There's no reason to wait until tomorrow to make better choices".

    In other words, the change doesn't have to wait until morning (or the first day of the week or the first day of the month) - sleeping doesn't reset anything, the number and words on the calendar don't mean anything. If you want to be better when you feel out of control, stop immediately, not later. So you ate your calorie goal by lunch? You're way over your calorie goal because those chips at the party looked oh so good? Recognize you've had enough, you won't die, the discomfort isn't THAT bad PLUS its very temporary (you can eat again tomorrow when you aren't over your goal anymore), and stop where you are. Make better choices for the rest of the day!

    Also - you might get to a point where you're thinking about it all the time. Her other tip was to "stop thinking about food". It's kind of true, the more you think about it, the hungrier you are. So plan your meals, know your game plan, think about it if you need to change the plan, but otherwise, tell yourself to stop thinking about it between those times if you start. Do that until it's a habit :)

    I love this. I saw this and it is just...amazing advice.
  • richardositosanchez
    richardositosanchez Posts: 260 Member
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    I stay motivated by looking at before and after photos, the fact that I've gone down 2 shirt sizes, comparing how motivated I feel these days as opposed to a few years ago when I would get home from work and veg out or stay in bed for a few hours, and I tell myself stuff like "no pain, no gain". And sometimes I just do it without thinking. Some days I've had a long stressful day at work but I just drive myself to the gym and do it, because I know that within 20 minutes of working out i'll start to feel better and by the time I walk out of there the stress and tension are gone.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,952 Member
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    LifeInTheBikeLane wrote: »
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Just a little tip that my sister gave me that helped...

    You know those days when you just can't seem to eat enough, and you're devouring all the food, and you're thinking "Ah, may as well enjoy it all and start fresh tomorrow"? She told me this "There's no reason to wait until tomorrow to make better choices".

    In other words, the change doesn't have to wait until morning (or the first day of the week or the first day of the month) - sleeping doesn't reset anything, the number and words on the calendar don't mean anything. If you want to be better when you feel out of control, stop immediately, not later. So you ate your calorie goal by lunch? You're way over your calorie goal because those chips at the party looked oh so good? Recognize you've had enough, you won't die, the discomfort isn't THAT bad PLUS its very temporary (you can eat again tomorrow when you aren't over your goal anymore), and stop where you are. Make better choices for the rest of the day!

    Also - you might get to a point where you're thinking about it all the time. Her other tip was to "stop thinking about food". It's kind of true, the more you think about it, the hungrier you are. So plan your meals, know your game plan, think about it if you need to change the plan, but otherwise, tell yourself to stop thinking about it between those times if you start. Do that until it's a habit :)

    I love this. I saw this and it is just...amazing advice.

    Thank you :) My sister's an intelligent lady. I should actually take her advice more too.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    OP good for you for reading and answering everyones posts. Back to the issue of focus, because im extremely focused amd commited. One of the things that helps me in addition to planning I described in my previous post is to focus on the next target ive set myself, which could be the next lb. That narrows down to each decision I make, which is does it get me closer or move me further away. If it moves me further away then im a fair judge of myself to know whther its acceptable or just me not getting on with it. If you make a choice that moves you away from your goal, then justify it and be honest. This happens everyday, but it keeps me on track and focused, as well as the results it gets.

    For example ive just been in the gym. I ran out of energy so I left on condition I go back and finish this evening. Keeping yourself on target like that allows flexibility, but it also keeps you on track.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,715 Member
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    LifeInTheBikeLane wrote: »
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Just a little tip that my sister gave me that helped...

    You know those days when you just can't seem to eat enough, and you're devouring all the food, and you're thinking "Ah, may as well enjoy it all and start fresh tomorrow"? She told me this "There's no reason to wait until tomorrow to make better choices".

    In other words, the change doesn't have to wait until morning (or the first day of the week or the first day of the month) - sleeping doesn't reset anything, the number and words on the calendar don't mean anything. If you want to be better when you feel out of control, stop immediately, not later. So you ate your calorie goal by lunch? You're way over your calorie goal because those chips at the party looked oh so good? Recognize you've had enough, you won't die, the discomfort isn't THAT bad PLUS its very temporary (you can eat again tomorrow when you aren't over your goal anymore), and stop where you are. Make better choices for the rest of the day!

    Also - you might get to a point where you're thinking about it all the time. Her other tip was to "stop thinking about food". It's kind of true, the more you think about it, the hungrier you are. So plan your meals, know your game plan, think about it if you need to change the plan, but otherwise, tell yourself to stop thinking about it between those times if you start. Do that until it's a habit :)

    I love this. I saw this and it is just...amazing advice.

    Same here! I was going to quote it as well because I hope everyone reads it. Very helpful!
  • tberrycastle
    tberrycastle Posts: 32 Member
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    I have been a yo-yo dieter all my life, carrying at least an additional 50 pounds (and upwards of 100) for the duration. I can completely relate to your post. It seems like success has always been preceded by some great motivational switch, then when I'm on, I'm on. During those times, I fear reverting to my old, self destructive habits. So, for the past 2 years now I have watched my weight creep back up after my last 60 pound loss, 5 years ago. I have regained over 40 of the 60. And I have spent 2 years trying to find that "Thing" to get me back on track. I have even gotten back on track a few times but it only lasted days or at most, weeks. I returned to MFP just a few days ago. Not with any great lightening bolt revelation/motivation, mind you, but with simple acknowledgement of my state of obesity, combined with an old addicts adage (My father was an AA guru) "JUST FOR TODAY." Contemplating a "diet" long term is completely overwhelming, and facing the need to lose 50 pounds just makes me want to grab a snack; but I know I am capable of logging in, eating right, drinking water, and even exercising a bit....JUST FOR TODAY. Many an addict has decades of sobriety behind them by using that one simple principle. I know that my relationship with food is no different...I'm a big comfort eater. So, here we go....no big lightening bolts, no upcoming class reunion, no before/after pics, just an awareness of my health....predisposition for diabetes....daily difficulty climbing stairs....and a craving to avoid a heart attack or stroke, walking with leg braces, dying of sleep apnea, etc. (With a touch of wanting to get back into cuter clothing...) JUST FOR TODAY. I can do this. And so can you :-)
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    I get it. Two years ago, there was nothing anyone would have been able to say to me that would motivate me to lose weight. I just felt helpless, hopeless, and didn't think that I could do it, so why try. I had the knowledge (done calorie counting before, but gained it all back), but no motivation.

    Then I decided that I wasn't going to focus on weight, but health. I started exercising. I took up running (if you can call the speed that I was moving at running...) with the C25K program. I completed it, but hadn't lost any weight. I tried to "eat better", but still nothing.

    Then we booked a vacation to Hawaii. That light a fire under my butt to start calorie counting. I'll be damned if I have to look at pictures of our trip for years to come and only be thinking about how fat I looked. I only had a few months before the trip, but I lost about 20lbs before going.

    Although the trip is what motivated me to start, that's not what kept me going. Very shortly after I started (like two weeks in), I realized that it's really not as hard as I had built up in my head. I changed my focus to habit building. It's now just something that I do. No emotion built into it. I don't punish myself when I mess up, I just move on to the next day. This is why I've been able to stick to it this time and don't see myself ever stopping. I won't stop doing laundry, showering, brushing my teeth, so why would I stop calorie counting when its just something I do to take care of myself.

    TL;DR: Building it as a habit is very important for long term success, but sometimes finding a motivating event (like a vacation, wedding, or even signing up for a fun run or something) can help you get over that "getting started" hurdle.
  • DamitJanit
    DamitJanit Posts: 1,329 Member
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    Well, this is just my opinion but I don't understand why you go into this thinking it's going to be so hard? There are days that aren't as easy as others, but the truth is that it's just eating healthy foods with lower calories than others. I have struggled with weight for years and gone on a number of different diets. This is so easy to me because it's not a diet and I'm not really depriving myself of anything. I do look at the calorie content in some of the foods that I love and decide it's not worth that many calories, so I just don't eat it. But I can eat anything I want and just smaller amounts. I like food and don't like to feel hungry so I choose to eat more of the things that are low in calories. So many people post that it works if there is a calorie deficit and I'm finding that true. I've only been on this journey since mid October but am very happy with the 19 pounds I've lost. I plan to continue what I'm doing until I reach my goal and then may set a new goal. Once I'm to the point of adding calories to maintain, I'll continue to log my intake so I can do something about a weight gain of 5 pounds rather than waiting until it's 50.
    I've had a couple of occasions where I allowed myself to go over for that day and I just start again at the next meal. The motivation for me is seeing the scale go down every few days. *Yes, I'm one of those people that still weighs every day*. lol

    You CAN do this and I also agree, "Just do it"! Good luck
  • sherbear702
    sherbear702 Posts: 649 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Fit_Fox88 wrote: »
    (paraphrased b/c I can't remember the exact quote): "The time between today and your goal is going to pass whether you do anything or not so you might as well do it." If you do nothing and in 3 month's time look back on today you'll think to yourself that you could've been so much farther along if you had just started on that day.

    I really like that quote! It's so true. I've been in that exact spot, like geeze I was supposed to start losing weight in September and here were are in December and I've not lost anything. If only I'd stayed on track 3 months ago, I'd be 20lbs lighter right now...that's actually pretty depressing.
  • fitmama0914
    fitmama0914 Posts: 83
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    I am new (3weeks almost, the longest I've ever worked out. 6 days a week.) It may sound juvenile, but I basically dared myself. I either want to get into heavy lifting, or to be able to get into scorpion pose, as my goal. And I told myself that I have to commit to working out for 90 days before I can quit. I'm theorizing that by then it won't cross my mind. I'm entirely overanalytical too. I've been obsessing about my calories because I haven't lost weight, but completely ignoring the inches I've lost. I get bored very quickly with working out, so I basically do random workouts on YouTube every other day or so, then yoga twice a week, and walk on Saturday. I did figure out that I do much better with a video or DVD. If I just write down a bodyweight workout to do, I end up cheating and only doing like 20 minutes. But if I'm following a video I can do an hour. I read somewhere that when you're not feeling like working out, just give it 10 minutes, and stop if you're not feeling up to it still, but usually after 10 minutes you'll keep going. These are just things that have been working for me so far.

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