Being "Transformed" by the renewing of your mind (Focusing) success stories please
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NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »That's so very intriguing and inspirational at the same time--inspirational because it broadens my thoughts about other "tools/motivators" to use in this battle of the bulge. I've NEVER considered something like "numbers, charts, graphs" as being motivational and it's good to "think" about different motivating factors, instead of just one's looks and the scale. Numbers and charts huh? I've never been interested in those type of things, but thank you so much for posting and giving me something else to consider.
Just to add to this, having the numbers in place allows me to not stress about the bouncing up and down that the scale does on a day to day basis. I can look at my calorie inputs and estimated burns (via my fitbit) and feel confident that I am doing the right things. The process is really all that I can control, the results will come when and how they want to, so by focusing on the numbers, it allows me to let go of worrying about the short term results.
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NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »Ya know, I've been in this battle for the past few (3+) years and haven't been successful for a multi-tude of reasons and today, I'm seriously thinking about one of the main reasons that I've been
totally ignoring and not doing...positive self-talk/soul-talk and focusing.
I LOVE to read success stories and many of them discuss that they "focus" when exercising. Of course I know what "focus" means, but today I heard something that "turned the light on" for me about "focusing" and this is what it is:
Focusing on what I want to achieve INSTEAD of what I want to avoid
Now I KNOW this seems simple and one would think it would be obvious, but for me, it super hasn't been at all. When I stopped to think about my thinking on being fat and other stresses in my life, my self-talk has been almost totally negative. Focusing on what I want to achieve INSTEAD of what I want to avoid.
All this to ask: How has focus (when exercising and eating/drinking) and purposely using positive self-talk and avoiding negative self-talk/thinking/speaking about yourself and your stresses in life helped you achieve your weight-loss success? PLEASE SHARE!
I've lost 82 pounds by eating at a caloric deficit and moving more.
But a lot of that was internal, too - I stopped the negative self talk, I started yoga and meditation and really tried to make myself a priority. I think it's really helped me succeed. I'm still learning how to look at myself and focus on the positives, instead of the things I still don't like - I'm a work in progress. But I think that shifting focus and treating this more as a whole mind/body improvement, rather than just weight loss has been really positive for me.0 -
I do believe that with God's help everything is possible. I'm down 29 lbs and have done it slowly over 6 months and I have a lot to go. Most people have started telling me - diet - jump start it - do it faster. However, I want this to be permanent. So I believe in order for that to be - you have to change your mind, look at food as fuel and (occasionally schedule in those treats). I really get on this site and plan my food for the entire day. Many times I end up changing some of it, add to it some, but for the most part it really helps to keep me on track. For those days when I know I need a splurge (my favorite splurge is vanilla bean cheesecake with raspberry sauce from TGIF)
I enter it and then plan really healthy foods (low carb/low sugar) for the rest of the day. This mind set is helping to keep me on tract for the long haul. I remember to thank God daily for helping me to reach my goal as if it is already done deal and I'm there already. It is helping me to believe I will make it to the end. Thanks for sharing your success. Stories like this further affirm the end journey is worth it. Thank you.
Side note: I have a little chart of boxes (about the size of a business card) on my desk. No-one would even notice it. Every time I have lost a pound I fill in the box. So visually I am reminded each day of how far I have come. It also unfortunately reminds me of how far I have to go (unfilled boxes) - but the final reminder is that the End is definitely in Sight. My only failure will be is if I stop. With MFP and my Fitbit and God that is no longer an option.
God Bless!
Down 29lbs is just tremendous--congrats to you for that huge accomplishment I really think that's the difference for me and why I haven't been consistent nor successful, I've love God, with ALL my heart, soul, mind and strength--but the truth is, no matter how much I've been thinking about Him and talking about Him I've yet been doing this (or NOT doing this 
) on my own (leaning to my own understanding and way--ya know, not really depending on His Leading and Guiding, but instead as I said before, leaning to my own understanding and way--trusting in myself instead of REALLY/TRULY Trusting Him for His Power and Strength and HELP) AND I've considered the "doing it slowly" a fate worse than death, so I really haven't been THINKING about doing it slowly, instead I've been wanting to see results FAST, and obviously...it isn't and hasn't happened and then I get into the negative self-talk and have just been spinning my wheels and discouraged as all get out. I LOVE THAT YOU'VE DECIDED TO DO THIS SLOWLY. That is one thing I MUST get into my skull. I know it intellectually, but have been in denial or worse 
I LOVE the thought of food as "fuel"...I love that! I'm really good at the logging, my eating is pretty decent--it's TWO things that I've struggled with in ALL this entire time that is defeating me consistently. #1. Weighing my food--I KNOW I should, but everything in my fiber shouts NO, IT DON'T TAKE ALL THAT. and #2. changing the way I think about a lot of stuff, including how I view myself. I LOVE your idea of "chart-boxes" too. Yesterday, I ran into an older woman who looked absolutely tremendous...I told her she looks GREAT and she told me one of her "secrets" was that she PRAYS over every cup of water she drinks." I said..."WHAT?!?" I've NEVER thought about that--I do pray over everything I eat, but never considered or thought about praying over my water. I've recently started purposely drinking lots more water and I'm now praying over my water. She said that drinking water is a key to her extra ordinarily beautiful skin, hair and nails and maintaining her slim and trim look, but she said that praying over her water gives her "focus" on God and how attributing her success and good looks to Him, makes her stronger. Lot's of people may scoff at this, but I LOVE IT!
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When I first started, I KNEW I'd fail, but I thought wth... After I lost 15ish pounds, I thought that would probably be all I could do. But I figured I'd keep trying. Anyway, I repeated that until I got to 60 pounds before I thought that maybe this IS possible!
I've really learned to be kinder to myself and learn that it's not me against my body. We're on the same team!
Being positive and focusing on the good things in life really translates to so many other areas too.0 -
It helped me a great deal. I've already lost my weight, but one of the things that I really tried to focus on was stopping the negative attirude towards myself. I still have issues sometimes, but I do believe it was crucial to my weight loss.
Honey, you are looking totally tremendous-just gorgeous and totally "transformed" and your reply and seeing your pics AND saying that you still have "issues sometimes" is so inspirational and encouraging to me...W W!
Thank you EVER so very much for posting, you've helped me (and others I'm sure) bigtime!!!! You rock, period.
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subversive99 wrote: »NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »That's so very intriguing and inspirational at the same time--inspirational because it broadens my thoughts about other "tools/motivators" to use in this battle of the bulge. I've NEVER considered something like "numbers, charts, graphs" as being motivational and it's good to "think" about different motivating factors, instead of just one's looks and the scale. Numbers and charts huh? I've never been interested in those type of things, but thank you so much for posting and giving me something else to consider.
Just to add to this, having the numbers in place allows me to not stress about the bouncing up and down that the scale does on a day to day basis. I can look at my calorie inputs and estimated burns (via my fitbit) and feel confident that I am doing the right things. The process is really all that I can control, the results will come when and how they want to, so by focusing on the numbers, it allows me to let go of worrying about the short term results.
Yes, exactly ... I know my patterns.
I know that when I ride a long distance on a weekend, and then eat something salty, I will gain weight on Sunday and hold the weight gain until about Wednesday when I'll make tracks to the toilet all day ... and on Thursday morning, I'll weight less than ever.
I know that I will gain weight a day or two before a period and a day or two after I've started, I'll lose it.
I know that when my kidney stones are bothering me a bit, and I drink a lot of extra water to ease the pain, I'll maintain my weight ... almost plateau ... until I ease back on the drinking a little bit.
I have also heard that travelling causes people to retain water, so if I step on the scale tomorrow morning, I'll probably be up a little bit.
And when these things happen, I don't panic or get frustrated or become depressed ... I know these are naturally occurring patterns and that if I keep doing what I'm doing, it will be OK.
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MargueriteMuguet wrote: »Good point you make here!
In regards to self love/positive self talk etc. for me it was a true gate that made me consistent with my weightloss but also other areas in my life.
Before I would sabotage myself because of that negative self talk but once I dedided I would be there for me and take it one step at a time, I saw and felt small changes and I congratulated myself (yep, out loud) for one small success at a time.
There were bumps along the way but that makes it even sweeter later on when I look back and realise that with my healthy supportive attitude towards myself, I trudged on and all the tiny changes and encouragements turned to a huge accomplishment! I am very proud of that, even more so than my weight loss !
See, I LOVE that what you've said about positive self/talk, etc. not only helping you with weight-loss, but with/in other areas of your life too. That's just so encouraging and helpful to hear/know. I also love you congratulating yourself outloud--hmmmmmph, never thought of that, it sounds like fun! Your emphasis on "tiny-steps" is something I've either ignored or down-played too, I'm going to make a conscience effort to start recognising/acknowledging the "small" things too. Thank you ever so much for your inspiring post!
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mjhellmers wrote: »I have struggled with weight my whole life and have been on the roller coaster for years. I always start at the beginning of year, only to get frustrated and “fall off the wagon” after a bad weekend. I lose a lot quickly and then it slows down. That’s when I normally get frustrated. The year’s journey began January 4th when the scale said 311. I had had enough! I was so mad at myself for letting it get that far…again! So I set my goal at 2 lbs. per week and starting logging every day. I dropped 50 lbs. in the first 12 weeks, but have only lost 5 lbs. in the last 2½ months. April and May were rocky in the sense that I would stick to my calories every day during the week and then blow it on the weekend. The scale would be up 6-8 lbs. on Mondays, but I realized most of that is water weight. Normally, I would get frustrated and give up. I finally learned that it’s ok to fall, just get back up the next day. Weekend slips have sometimes led to 4-5 day slips. But guess what? The sun comes up and it’s ok. I am currently at 55 lbs. lost and I feel like I finally have the mental part down. Just like Machka9, I am a numbers freak. I weigh myself every day and also chart my progress. I have set my chart to reflect my future loss based on my current goal. To me, it is a great motivator to stay on track. I recently bumped my goal to 1.5 lbs. per week and have decided to slowly transition to maintenance. I plan to leave it at 1.5 lbs. per week for 3-4 months and then bump it to 1 lb. per week for 3-4 months. Then I want to set it at 0.5 lb. per week and leave it there for a while. Another thing that has helped is I don’t avoid foods I love, I have learned to eat it and log it. That was another thing that hurt me in the past. I would avoid all the foods I loved, which would only lead to losing my mind and binging. The main thing is to do what works for you. Set little goals and reward yourself when you achieve them. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Believe in yourself. There are a ton of “experts” on here that know what YOU should do. But everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for you. That being said, some of the “experts” on here and can offer really great advice. Best of luck0
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NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »It helped me a great deal. I've already lost my weight, but one of the things that I really tried to focus on was stopping the negative attirude towards myself. I still have issues sometimes, but I do believe it was crucial to my weight loss.
Honey, you are looking totally tremendous-just gorgeous and totally "transformed" and your reply and seeing your pics AND saying that you still have "issues sometimes" is so inspirational and encouraging to me...W W!
Thank you EVER so very much for posting, you've helped me (and others I'm sure) bigtime!!!! You rock, period.
Thank you so much!
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debsanland wrote: »I think you are definately on the right path. I've tried many diets in my life and spent so much money on books, weight loss programs, etc. I had some successes, but this time I believed I could do it without the books and money spent on prepackaged foods. I'm losing weight 48 pounds so far, and weigh less than I have in my adult life. The difference is that even when I first started I told myself I could do it and I would do it. I have a favorite quote that says, "the first and best victory is to conquer self" I believe you have to change your mind to change your body, nothing is impossible if you truly believe in yourself!
This! Believing in yourself is so important.
Until I believed I could do it, I couldn't. Once I had it in my head that I would be successful, I was successful.
Believing in yourself also lets you forgive yourself and move on when you have a bad day.
I read a great article on Self Efficacy and of course I can't find it now, but it basically boils down to this.
Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation.
People with a strong sense of self-efficacy:
-View challenging problems as tasks to be mastered
-Develop deeper interest in the activities in which they participate
-Form a stronger sense of commitment to their interests and activities
-Recover quickly from setbacks and disappointments
Thank you so much for posting this Zelnna---so much! I can't say that I've finally "arrived" at believing I can do this...but I CAN say that I'm definitely leaving that stressful and deceitful place (since posting this) FOR SURE! What you wrote about "Self-efficacy" reminds me of how I used to think when I was younger...much younger (and super slimmer and more, ummmmmm....just different then, in everyway and in a super more positive way too. This daily stress, worry and unbelief is getting very old now (it's wearing me out, literally)--change is coming and I'm ready for it now, no matter what!
ETA: I'm "focusing" on this "thought" until it becomes automatic to/for me:Exercise is HEALTHY stress
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In January, I weighed 218 pounds and as of this morning, I weighed in at 185. It's only 33 pounds, but it feels tremendous to me, because every pound I burn off is a pound that's lifted from my knees. I feel so much joy for it, which is my biggest motivator. Every day that I go for a run, I think, "this time tomorrow, it will be even easier than it is today" Other things I do to keep me focused include
*Keeping a smiley face pound chart. I get to color in a bubble every time I lose a pound.
*Entertaining an imaginary trainer. When I'm doing cardio and I start to feel like slowing down or taking a walking break, I look at the timer on my watch and tell myself, "Look at this. Look how far you've run already, run a little more! Becoming better is hard work and you're doing it! Now keep doing it! One more minute!" And then that minute turns into two into three into five and I feel so empowered by it
*Using cartoons to pass time while I unwind with stretches
*Getting my daily water in five gulps at a time.
*Rewarding myself with cheese. Using food as a reward is generally frowned upon, but I don't mind because the beauty of this app is that I can eat anything I want! And I do! But I've also learned to be mindful of my calories, so swapping in fruit is another scrumptious reward for me. Especially with cheese.
*Using message boards as a reward. I won't let myself gush over success stories until I've logged all my calories for the day. I think of success stories as an elite club of accomplishment. There's no point wanting to join if I don't follow the rules and pay my own dues in effort.
*Being proud of what I've done for myself. This one's important. On the grand scale, I started out wanting to lose nearly eighty pounds. So I used to lament over every five pounds I lost, because they seemed so small in comparison to eighty. Even thirty is less than half of that. But not appreciating my hard work and all the hours I spent sweating and logging is actually a really huge disservice to myself. Being cynical about any of it isn't me being fair to me. Truthfully, I had to teach myself to appreciate what I've gained along the ride, which is more freedom and more reasons to be happy.
*Disregarding negative body thoughts. Occasionally, I will think something nasty towards myself on rougher days. As a human, this can't be helped. So when it happens, I patiently remind myself that I'm in for the long haul and losing weight takes time. Then I remember I'm awesome and I can run a 5k and touch my toes and a whole slew of other new fun facts about myself that I didn't have six months ago.
I deeply enjoy the clarity of being fit. The solace I find in being content with my body is a luxury I can't easily describe. Knowing that it gets even better than this excites me tremendously
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Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. - Romans 12:2
My pastor used to say, "Replace the pictures in the gallery of your mind." It's a lot easier to add new thoughts and memories than to try and erase the old. You can crowd out old habits with new ones. It's worked for me. LOVE this post! I'm not sure I have pictures in my mind--I'm more of a "wordsmith" (even though I'm not a professional writer, I've always loved words in both writing and speaking and especially in THINKING 
) and always have been since I was a wee little one--my negative/bitter thoughts are words/self-talk& thoughts, as I think about--but starting NOW, I'm going to start painting some "pictures" in the gallery of my mind--thanks to YOU , that's for sure!
Not being conformed to the "pattern" of this ole world isn't an issue/challenge for me at all, it's pretty easy actually for me, but the being transformed by the renewing of the mind part...THAT's a HUGE challenge for me. Also, the "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service....once I consistently THINK and DO that---firstly, I know the renewing of my mind will become easier for me too.
Thank you again ever so much for posting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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One of the things I've been doing this time around is incorporating tips from the Beck Diet Solution. I give myself "credit" for every success. These include following my food plan and staying within my calories, daily exercise, etc. A few of her other ideas that have helped include "No Choice". Instead of waffling back and forth, thinking should I have it, should I not. I just tell myself, "No Choice", I'll follow my plan. This doesn't mean I can't have a treat sometimes, but I don't want to do battle with myself every time I see something I might like. She also suggests writing down the reasons you want to lose weight on individual cards and reading thru them each day. It's a good reminder. Easy things, but sometimes the easy things are best.
Excellent post, period. Thank you ever so much for this!
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I sometimes write a positive message on my mirror, which I have recently done again because I need to get back to telling myself good things. Right now it says "I take good care of my body". Positive thoughts can change your life for sure! I lost about 20 lbs a few years ago using this app, but somehow I haven't cared enough lately and gained it all back. I'm ready for a change. Thanks everyone for your own stories. They remind me I'm not alone.
Excellent idea about writing notes on the mirror. Also, putting a pic of me looking slimmer and trimmer on my mirrors too! Thank you so much for posting
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This is a great thread. There are so many ways that negative self talk can enter into our lives and eat away at our ability to do the best for ourselves.
It seems to me we need to remind ourselves that the journey is as important as the destination.
Important for me is letting go of things that I can't influence, so that I have more energy to tackle things that I CAN.
I am unable to influence the fact that my health suffered a dramatic change in 2012, but I can ensure that my weight doesn't escalate dramatically now that I can't exercise (or be active at all actually).
So coming on here and logging really helps me keep focused.
I have also found other ways to do things I enjoy so that my life is not "on hold" waiting for me to "get better"! Some-one told me that I'd "given-in" to my illness - but I don't think that's the case.
I'm just doing my best to find joy in each day and finding new ways of eating that allow me to eat within a very low calorie range.
I have also found a way to keep doing agility competitions with my pup.... never mind that I need a mobility scooter to do it. I could keep wishing things were different, and keep waiting to "recover", but why waste the here and now?
Same I think for people who have a lot to loose - Don't put life on hold waiting for that perfect weight... enjoy the journey.
http://abilityforagility.blogspot.co.uk/
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I absolutely agree with you!
I had a co-worker that described it like this… he said his mind was like a magnifying glass. And what he thought about became bigger. If he thought about the problem…. then the problem became bigger. If he focused on the solution… then the solution became bigger.
The same thing is re-iterated in "The Secret." Whatever you think about… you bring about. If you think about debt… even if it's getting out of it… all the universe hears is DEBT. And that's what you find in your life is more and and more debt. But if you think about money or affluence. Then that's what you'll find in your life.
Personally, I find that my body will 100% obey what my mind tells it. If I start out going for a run and I find myself thinking "I can't do this," my body responds with "You're right. You can't." And it gives out on me. I'm done for in less than a mile. But if I start telling myself "I can and I will." Then my body responds with "Okay. Let's go." And it goes. And it keeps going. I was doing the Couch to 5k program and I was l looking at what my intervals looked like for that particular days run. And I started to freak the heck out. I was never going to be able to do this one! I was getting ready to bag it altogether. But I stepped back for a minute and started to think logically about it. I had a nice little conversation with myself… reminding myself that tons of people had followed the exact same program and they were able to do it. Why did I think I was so special? And I reminded myself that every day had been hard up to this point… but I'd still managed to do it. So, I took a deep a breath and decided to go run that morning. And I'm in the middle of one of the running intervals, and I'm feeling it. And I'm wondering if I can keep going. So, I reminded myself of everything I had had to tell myself in my earlier mental conversation. I pulled out all my positive thinking mantras that I had seen on Pinterest. And I kept going. I finished the interval and I finished the workout. And I realized that morning that my body really would 100% obey my mind. It was an emotional moment for me. I actually teared up. And I started realizing how much trouble I could have saved myself in my life if I would have learned that a long time ago!
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One of the things I've been doing this time around is incorporating tips from the Beck Diet Solution. I give myself "credit" for every success. These include following my food plan and staying within my calories, daily exercise, etc. A few of her other ideas that have helped include "No Choice". Instead of waffling back and forth, thinking should I have it, should I not. I just tell myself, "No Choice", I'll follow my plan. This doesn't mean I can't have a treat sometimes, but I don't want to do battle with myself every time I see something I might like. She also suggests writing down the reasons you want to lose weight on individual cards and reading thru them each day. It's a good reminder. Easy things, but sometimes the easy things are best.
I also love the Beck Diet Solution, and it has helped me overcome a lot of my emotional eating. Highly recommend it.
On the exercise side, I never could commit until I did C25K. The feeling of accomplishment in being able to do a measurable amount each time was a great feeling. I also find the changes in the mirror help reinforce what I am doing and make me want to keep at it. Even if you don't like charts, graphs, and numbers, setting a big goal and little goals along the way can give you a great sense of satisfaction. I love checking off another accomplishment from my list!
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mjhellmers wrote: »I have struggled with weight my whole life and have been on the roller coaster for years. I always start at the beginning of year, only to get frustrated and “fall off the wagon” after a bad weekend. I lose a lot quickly and then it slows down. That’s when I normally get frustrated. The year’s journey began January 4th when the scale said 311. I had had enough! I was so mad at myself for letting it get that far…again! So I set my goal at 2 lbs. per week and starting logging every day. I dropped 50 lbs. in the first 12 weeks, but have only lost 5 lbs. in the last 2½ months. April and May were rocky in the sense that I would stick to my calories every day during the week and then blow it on the weekend. The scale would be up 6-8 lbs. on Mondays, but I realized most of that is water weight. Normally, I would get frustrated and give up. I finally learned that it’s ok to fall, just get back up the next day. Weekend slips have sometimes led to 4-5 day slips. But guess what? The sun comes up and it’s ok. I am currently at 55 lbs. lost and I feel like I finally have the mental part down. Just like Machka9, I am a numbers freak. I weigh myself every day and also chart my progress. I have set my chart to reflect my future loss based on my current goal. To me, it is a great motivator to stay on track. I recently bumped my goal to 1.5 lbs. per week and have decided to slowly transition to maintenance. I plan to leave it at 1.5 lbs. per week for 3-4 months and then bump it to 1 lb. per week for 3-4 months. Then I want to set it at 0.5 lb. per week and leave it there for a while. Another thing that has helped is I don’t avoid foods I love, I have learned to eat it and log it. That was another thing that hurt me in the past. I would avoid all the foods I loved, which would only lead to losing my mind and binging. The main thing is to do what works for you. Set little goals and reward yourself when you achieve them. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Believe in yourself. There are a ton of “experts” on here that know what YOU should do. But everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for you. That being said, some of the “experts” on here and can offer really great advice. Best of luck to you!!
{{{{{{{{{{{{ HUGS & HIGH FIVES }}}}}}}}}}}}} Thank you EVER so much for posting, I REALLY appreciate this post so much and you are doing super fabulous, period. I read a myftinesspal ENCOURAGING post about reaching a plateau and want to share it with you, as I think it will bless you tremendously ( I know it did me).
The Upside of a Weight-Loss Plateau
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-upside-of-a-weight-loss-plateau/
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I a
I am going to add it in my inspirational quotes collection. Thank you for reminding me to appreciate my hard work!In January, I weighed 218 pounds and as of this morning, I weighed in at 185. It's only 33 pounds, but it feels tremendous to me, because every pound I burn off is a pound that's lifted from my knees. I feel so much joy for it, which is my biggest motivator. Every day that I go for a run, I think, "this time tomorrow, it will be even easier than it is today" Other things I do to keep me focused include
*Keeping a smiley face pound chart. I get to color in a bubble every time I lose a pound.
*Entertaining an imaginary trainer. When I'm doing cardio and I start to feel like slowing down or taking a walking break, I look at the timer on my watch and tell myself, "Look at this. Look how far you've run already, run a little more! Becoming better is hard work and you're doing it! Now keep doing it! One more minute!" And then that minute turns into two into three into five and I feel so empowered by it
*Using cartoons to pass time while I unwind with stretches
*Getting my daily water in five gulps at a time.
*Rewarding myself with cheese. Using food as a reward is generally frowned upon, but I don't mind because the beauty of this app is that I can eat anything I want! And I do! But I've also learned to be mindful of my calories, so swapping in fruit is another scrumptious reward for me. Especially with cheese.
*Using message boards as a reward. I won't let myself gush over success stories until I've logged all my calories for the day. I think of success stories as an elite club of accomplishment. There's no point wanting to join if I don't follow the rules and pay my own dues in effort.
*Being proud of what I've done for myself. This one's important. On the grand scale, I started out wanting to lose nearly eighty pounds. So I used to lament over every five pounds I lost, because they seemed so small in comparison to eighty. Even thirty is less than half of that. But not appreciating my hard work and all the hours I spent sweating and logging is actually a really huge disservice to myself. Being cynical about any of it isn't me being fair to me. Truthfully, I had to teach myself to appreciate what I've gained along the ride, which is more freedom and more reasons to be happy.
*Disregarding negative body thoughts. Occasionally, I will think something nasty towards myself on rougher days. As a human, this can't be helped. So when it happens, I patiently remind myself that I'm in for the long haul and losing weight takes time. Then I remember I'm awesome and I can run a 5k and touch my toes and a whole slew of other new fun facts about myself that I didn't have six months ago.
I deeply enjoy the clarity of being fit. The solace I find in being content with my body is a luxury I can't easily describe. Knowing that it gets even better than this excites me tremendously0 -
NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »Ya know, I've been in this battle for the past few (3+) years and haven't been successful for a multi-tude of reasons and today, I'm seriously thinking about one of the main reasons that I've been
totally ignoring and not doing...positive self-talk/soul-talk and focusing.
I LOVE to read success stories and many of them discuss that they "focus" when exercising. Of course I know what "focus" means, but today I heard something that "turned the light on" for me about "focusing" and this is what it is:
Focusing on what I want to achieve INSTEAD of what I want to avoid
Now I KNOW this seems simple and one would think it would be obvious, but for me, it super hasn't been at all. When I stopped to think about my thinking on being fat and other stresses in my life, my self-talk has been almost totally negative. Focusing on what I want to achieve INSTEAD of what I want to avoid.
All this to ask: How has focus (when exercising and eating/drinking) and purposely using positive self-talk and avoiding negative self-talk/thinking/speaking about yourself and your stresses in life helped you achieve your weight-loss success? PLEASE SHARE!
Great topic. Rather than focusing on "bad" food to avoid, I instead focus on what do I want to eat? What will both bring my satisfaction AND fit into my calorie requirement? It's been great focusing on what I can eat, what I can do, rather than what I can't.
Also, when I want to eat more calories, I don't dwell on the negative, but focus on "what activity can I do to increase how many calories I can eat today" and then I do it. So if I know that I want an extra 200 calories, I figure out how many minutes of extra walking will add up to 200, and I implement it.0
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