I found a rather interesting article on sparks this morning while browsing the web.. it was a little hard to be honest about recognizing my own level of commitment right now to getting to my goals; but turned out to be a good thing really because I realize I'm part way between Somewhat and Very Committed... which isn't enough for me at the moment. i want to get to Passionately Committed! I think it's natural that we will all vary from time to time to all the different levels, but it could be a gentle reminder for us, of how much effort and commitment we're actually making to get rid of the excess weight we carry.


For some of us, visualizing a goal is easy. For others, goal setting comes more naturally. Thomas Edison visualized the light bulb long before he succeeded in its invention.

Visualizing and goal setting are important steps to success, especially when it comes to weight loss. Preparing for a journey that lasts a lifetime also helps keep everything in perspective. Using available tools, reading articles, and connecting with others for support, keeps us going when we want to give up. Even with all this, the journey is still long, hard, and frustrating.

Sometimes all the resources and accountability in the world can't make up for one of the most important keys to success – commitment to your weight loss and health goals. You can have the vision, a plan, resource tools, and support but without heart-felt commitment to ignite the passion to go the distance, success may be fleeting.

Here is a scale to help you rate your commitment to reaching your weight loss and health goals.

• Not Very Committed - You acknowledge the importance of eating right and exercising. You have joined fitness centers or purchased workout equipment but they never seem to get used. You have been known to purchase great looking workout clothes but many of them still contain the tags. You have the best intentions to make changes but something always seems to get in the way. You have tried many diets. Unfortunately, you quickly give them up in favor of your favorite restaurant foods or parties with friends.

• Somewhat Committed - You have been told you need to make lifestyle changes to improve your health and you believe it is important. You want to make the changes but making time in your schedule with work, family, and friends proves difficult. You use your gym membership or home equipment and follow your "diet" every couple of weeks but quickly fall out of a routine. Your intentions are good but as the old saying goes, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

• Very Committed - You are learning to make changes and are determined to see this new lifestyle change through. Although there are a variety of things in your diet that still need attention, you are making progress with small, sustained changes. You are willing to continuously learn new habits and seek information and motivational help. You are learning what foods are best for your lifestyle and have found ways to get exercise that you enjoy. Frustration at the slow pace sets in from time to time and makes you want to give up but you quickly get back on track with the encouragement of others. Finding the balance with work, family, and personal time is always a battle but you are learning to make it all fit to reach your goals. While you have significantly reduced your visits to restaurants and use of convenience foods, you are still learning to embrace the social implications. You believe slow and steady will win the race and accept that you can't be perfect but work to do the best you can each day.

• Passionately Committed - You fully embrace the principles of your new lifestyle and have fully incorporated them into your day to day life. Visits to restaurants are very limited and so are convenience foods in the pantry. Nutrient rich meals and meaningful time with family and friends have taken their place. Exercise is enjoyable and you now miss it on days you take off. You have found a wonderful balance between work, family and community and your healthy lifestyle and outlook compliment every aspect of your life. You are setting new goals, love the new "you" that has been discovered and your positive changes have been noticed and inspirational to others.

• Zealously Committed - Your standards for healthy living are very high. Strict rules and guidelines regulate what you eat or how you exercise. You are willing to sacrifice all aspects of your life to achieve your goals. You do not notice the impact your eating and exercise choices have on others around you. Those that do not jump on board with your level of commitment easily irritate and annoy you. When family or friends suggest you are too committed, you become defensive. You find wonderful comfort and control in your life from the food and exercise routines you embrace.

What is your level of commitment? Is it at a level that is helping you reach your goals? Could it be a barrier to your success?

http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-secret-little-words-that-make-healthy-habits-stick/

Thanks for sharing the info about CR agreeing with not eating back the exercise cals Susan.. honestly I have always eaten back any I earned from dedicated exercise; not from regular things I do all the time but if I used the treadmill or elliptical or walked for an hour, I did.. and it averaged bout 250-300 cals.. which is a LOT if really not burning them as such.. so I think for this next week (my weigh in is wed so my weeks go wed-wed) I won't add any back if I do... appreciate the input!!

And yup.. that part about sometimes being somewhat and sometimes being very rang true for me too... I may only be at somewhat today; but tomorrow I will be very lol!

Worth the 2 minutes to read IMHO...

http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/how-to-ignore-the-quitter-in-your-head/

I stumbled across this over my morning coffee today, and although it's obviously a sales pitch for the author's book, the Q&A about her theories on lifestyle change weight loss was quite appropro for me, considering my recent rant LOL... wonder how the other hatters "weigh" in on her thoughts?


Q&A with Yoni Freedhoff M.D. on The Diet Fix: Why Diets Fail and How to Make Yours Work

What misconception about dieting do you think causes the most damage?

The most damaging misconception about dieting is that our weights should all be “ideal” and that scales not only measure pounds, but also possess the ability to measure the presence or absence of health. It’s those messages that lead dieters to undertake wholly nonsensical approaches to weight management, and they also serve to help fuel society’s hateful weight biases.

What is Post Traumatic Dieting Disorder?

Post-traumatic dieting disorder or PTDD is the frequent consequence of years of recurrent traumatic dieting efforts. It’s a shared constellation of symptoms that often extends far beyond a dieter’s relationship with food and may include feelings of ineffectiveness, shame, hopelessness, loss of healthy body image, feeling permanently damaged, social withdrawal, and, at times, can even impact upon interpersonal relationships. Another very common symptom of PTDD is the belief that traumatic diets are required for weight management success; oftentimes folks with PTDD spend huge portions of their lives yo-yo’ing from one traumatic diet to the next. This leads to a vicious cycle of suffering, binge dieting, and feelings of inadequacy that sets people up for failure.

What is the most important factor in sustaining your weight?

The most important factor in sustaining your weight is not just tolerating, but actually liking your life and being both consistent, and, believe it or not, imperfect. Truly, your job in regard to both weight and health is to live the healthiest life that you can enjoy - in other words, to do your best. That said, it’s important to note that the best you can do over say, Christmas or a vacation, is very different than the best you can do during a plain, old, boring week, but that also doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still be thinking about things. Given our modern day Willy Wonkian food environment, not paying attention, for many, leads to easy gains, and given it’s so much easier to gain than it is to lose, remaining thoughtful, but not blindly strict, and doing so consistently, is crucial. Putting this another way - the healthiest life you can enjoy still needs to include chocolate, but that amount of chocolate needs to be the smallest amount that you need in order to be happy, and that amount changes day by day.

Why is the label of obesity misleading?

Unfortunately the label “obesity” carries with it a huge amount of societal stigma, stereotype and frankly ugly judgment whereby people who are described as “being” obese are regularly perceived and portrayed as lazy and gluttonous. Yet the presence or absence of weight really doesn’t define anyone. There are healthy people with weight to lose, and unhealthy skinny ones, and I certainly know plenty of beanpole gluttons. While there’s no doubt that medical risk rises with weight, risks are certainly not guarantees, and more importantly, weight does not and cannot be used to judge a person’s lifestyle. So if you’re ever writing about obesity, remember that a person cannot “be” labeled as obese, they can only have obesity, and that given the negative stereotypes and implications surrounding the word obesity, that distinction matters.

What is the biggest misconception you wish people could shake off about dieting?

The biggest misconception that I wish people could shake off about dieting is that suffering and sacrifice are dieting’s true determinants of success. Unfortunately, as a species, we just aren’t built to suffer in perpetuity. Consequently, weight that’s lost through suffering, through some combination of under-eating and/or over-exercising, is bound to come back.

What’s the best diet?

There really is no one “best” diet - if there were, there wouldn’t be tens of thousands of different diet books available, and weight struggles would be rare to non-existent. Ultimately a person’s “best” diet is the healthiest diet that they can enjoy, as diets that are merely tolerable, given food’s star billing as one of life’s most seminal pleasures, simply don’t last. Real life does, and frankly must, still include chocolate

I found it quite insightful too Susan... and have to agree! I know i'm eating a far healthier diet now after almost two years on MFP, but I know I can do better overall in general for my health and will continue to work towards that while I lose the excess weight I carry, but it will absolutely require awareness of what and how much I eat each day to reach my optimum health goals. Thanks for your thoughts on it!