Why am I so negative??

Many, many people live their life with negative thoughts even though they appear happy to everyone else. We treat ourselves way worse than we do anyone else, and we treat ourselves in ways we would never allow someone else to treat us.

Perhaps it is time to turn your view around. Do you have kids? Would you ever prep them to fail like that? If they try out for the soccer team and practice every day would you say "Yeah, but you know no matter how much you practice someone else is always going to be better than you" ? No, you wouldn't. You would be their best cheerleader.

Its time to treat yourself like you would someone else. Pretend it is your best friend trying to do the same thing you are (enlist your best friend if you can to help with this!). What would you say to her to keep her spirits up? Everything you say to yourself, imagine you are saying it to her instead - would you really say that to her?!

I am a big believer in "fake it til you make it". I was having a hard time refusing food from relatives who are huge food pushers. So I started automatically saying "No thank you, I'm not hungry" even though I would have loved to shove every bite in my face. I made it an automatic response so there was no thought or "maybe this one time". You know what? After awhile it became true - I really *wasnt* hungry!

Come up with some new words you would say to a friend in the same situation to encourage her, and start repeating them to yourself. If nothing else, it frees your mind up (have you ever thought about how much brain space it takes to be negative all the time? ) Those thoughts take up a lot of room and time and energy - it is amazing what you can do if you free up that time and energy to do something else. But if you repeat something long enough, you start to believe it - and that is the real win.

THere is a saying that we have two wolves inside us - one good, one evil... which one wins? The one you feed.... You are feeding the wrong wolf!

Springfield1970 wrote: »

I have food pushers around me too. I'm a terrible liar but I found saying "no thanks, I've just eaten" stops them in their tracks. It's only natural for people to want to enjoy food together, but if you have overweight foodies around you, they are going to try and get in your way, it's human nature.

That is a good one too

My brother is probably the absolute worst food pusher ever... And he is not overweight! I swear, in the middle of saying "No..." when your mouth makes the "o" shape, he actually shoves the bite in your mouth. I have learned that while saying "No thank you" I also have to back up at the same time !!!

I definitely know what you're talking about. For me, those thoughts are ways to prepare myself for failure so I won't be so upset if I do fall short of my goals.

I agree with just being aware of those thoughts and stopping them in their tracks. Just think about something else and eventually they won't be as frequent.

Just wanted to note that you don't need to be under your goal each day, you should strive to reach your goal.

I actually think that besides being afraid of the plateau you have a great mindset. 3 pounds a month is wonderful. Just try to live in the moment. You're doing everything right. The time flies too, and before you know it you'll be at goal. And yeah, maybe there will be struggles along the way but there are always things you can fix in your diet to get over the humps.

Take it from someone who is not a ray of sunshine.

Focus on the process, for its own sake, rather than the result.

I am eating better and exercising because it is healthy. Weight loss is just a side effect.

Also, try to find an exercise activity you enjoy, that you actually look forward to, rather than just the hamster wheel. Those gains (so much further or faster than yesterday) are uplifting too.

For me, both times I have lost significant weight, it just took me getting sick of the way I was living. My mind just quickly adjusted to "I am thin and healthy now " and the body will follow suit to match.

But you have to stop telling yourself you will fail. It is a self fulfilling prophecy. You will get what you expect out of life, nothing more.

Maybe a short term stint on an antidepressant would be helpful.

Maybe set a goal for way out. Buy a small, sexy dress that you currently can't fit in. Hang it in your room. It will help you visualize success rather than failure.

Get someone with photoshop skills to make a pic of skinny you in a bikini on a beach. Hang it on your mirror. Even book the trip for next year and buy the bikini. Again, helps visualize success.

And tell the food pushers and naysayers that you are doing this. They can either get on board, or get out of your life. If you can get someone to make the journey with you, that helps add some accountability.

Anyway, this process isn't magic, or rocket science. You can do this. It is merely a question of will, and belief. If you tell yourself you can't, you are right every single time.

Good luck!

Research shows that people who exercise on a regular basis feel better about themselves than people who don't.