LTL Fri 9-9-16
Jimb376mfp
Posts: 6,236 Member
LTL Friday 9-9-16
Topic: Self Sabotage
Do you ever self sabotage your WL plan? Why do we do that? How do you recover?
This week I knew I was slacking off on tracking, exercise and eating enough fruits & vegetables. But the worse was the night before WI mindlessly eating PB & crackers. My WI was + 6# and I was not surprised.
I have been self examining why I did this and can only come up with lame reasons or excuses.
I have been OP for months and really meeting my own personal goal of a pound a week. Why did I go off script? Boredom? Knowing that a minor arthroscopic surgery will interrupt my exercise routine? My DW tried to console me by telling me my gain was probably sodium in crackers but I know what else I have been doing or MOT doing and think it all caught up with me. I walked 10K steps yesterday, first 10K day in a long time. I'm not looking for a KITA I just wonder if other GoaDs have experienced this self sabotage and how you dealt with it?
Topic: Self Sabotage
Do you ever self sabotage your WL plan? Why do we do that? How do you recover?
This week I knew I was slacking off on tracking, exercise and eating enough fruits & vegetables. But the worse was the night before WI mindlessly eating PB & crackers. My WI was + 6# and I was not surprised.
I have been self examining why I did this and can only come up with lame reasons or excuses.
I have been OP for months and really meeting my own personal goal of a pound a week. Why did I go off script? Boredom? Knowing that a minor arthroscopic surgery will interrupt my exercise routine? My DW tried to console me by telling me my gain was probably sodium in crackers but I know what else I have been doing or MOT doing and think it all caught up with me. I walked 10K steps yesterday, first 10K day in a long time. I'm not looking for a KITA I just wonder if other GoaDs have experienced this self sabotage and how you dealt with it?
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Replies
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Still trying to get the hang of posting on MFP. I posted this on FB GoaD page first.0
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I still remember the time I dropped 40 lbs just by exercising and eating less with no plan and no guidance. I was 40 at the time and I dropped from 278 to 238. I remember the day clearly when I got home from work and looked in the pantry and thought to myself "I'm tired of being good" I didn't get on the scale again until I hit 329 2 years ago at the age of 55.
When I joined WW l learned a lot about living the lifestyle and it kept me centered (along with a very healthy dose of GoaD interaction) But eventually I got tired of eating the same foods using the SFT technique and more destructively, I went back to mindless eating after dinner. I can remember thinking to myself that I was really being reckless. But that didn't stop me until I had gained back 45 of the 50 lbs that I had lost. I had also given back all the NSV's that I enjoyed. And when it got back to the point where I had to take a break between putting on my right shoe and putting on my left shoe, along with a sobering doctors visit I woke back up to the reality that I was slowly killing myself and I really didn't have a choice but to be mindful and disciplined.
So now I'm two months back on track and down about 20 lbs and really enjoying reading all the posts here on GoaD and interacting with everyone. And I've been really impressed with your steady progress - nothing drastic, just balance. So yes, I have experienced this self sabotage, and I have to grow up and live a balanced life, just like you have been doing, Jim.0 -
I've lied to myself that going a few hundred calories over my budget is being offset by being on my feet a lot at work or some other random activity. Sure, I can absorb the occasional day over budget, but when it starts to turn into an accumulated 2,000 or more calories per week of overage, the scale is going to go up.
I'm currently working on reducing the number of days over budget per week as well as that net total for the week. I had been doing too much self-soothing with food the past few months due to work stress.0 -
Self sabotage is definitely something I struggle with. I'm great at saying "well I already went over, might as well finish off the cookies too". One thing that has stuck with me is the saying, "If you broke one egg, would you break the rest?" I have to remind myself that going 200 calories over is a minor blip compared to 2000 calories. I've been doing better over time with moderation and being okay with "being in the red" but the thoughts of finishing the cookie jar are still there.0
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@goldenfrisbee You hit a note with "I'm tired of being good." Sometimes I do think like that, BUT I usually make the "better choice", I just need to remember that "being good" is what got me to lose 143 and doing what "feels good" just makes me miserable when I get in the scale.
Enjoyed your post.1 -
Sabotage carries a connotation of some intended set of actions with the goal of undermining a plan or action. I think we all get off track for a variety of reasons. Mindfulness can be exhausting And it can be difficult to constantly get your head around the concept that success requires a lifetime of it.
I'm not convinced there is a lot of sabotaging going on. And I suspect when it's happening, it reflects a considerable degree of distress.
But, yes, I find myself getting worn out from time to time. Sometimes you just need a break.0 -
What has helped me recently is getting my fridge and pantry (my spaces) set up to make times when I just don't care less damaging. I am working on the behavior, but I can also do what I can to make the consequences less severe.
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I have played the self-fulfilling prophecy "what if" games myself. I can go on that downward spiral. so far I have been letting the habits (good) take over without lengthy out of bounds excursions. Don't know why it happens or what gets me back OP. For me it has been getting better with time (most of the time).0
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Before delving too far, in your case, Jim, I agree with @countcurt : , I wouldn't characterize two events as self-sabotage. Not in the context of how you've been working the plan (and congratulations on a really diligent and productive year so far!).
To me the distinction between sabotage and taking a break is what you choose to do with your informed decision from here on out. Are you done with the 'break'? Will you / can you learn how take a break without feeling guilty, or will you transition to freefall downward from here? I think learning how to take a break is probably a good thing but I suspect you'll stay the course in general. And I suggest you do; you're doing great!
As for me, no I really have not self-sabotaged to this point. I've made some decisions to have high-point stuff, but the point above the line has been but a blip on the trend line. Honestly, I think I'm scared to take the training wheels off so I track (almost) everything and stay the course with the occasional informed decision to indulge.0 -
Since no else is around to sabotage me, it's always ME who does the sabotaging.
And I've been doing a lot of it recently. I'm having some health issues and I think I'm just having a little pity party for myself.
Or maybe it's like countcurt said -- I'm just tired of it and needed a break. But breaks are for short periods of time so it's time to get past it and get my *kitten* in gear.2 -
You didn't make a good enough deal with yourself.
Look at the concept behind self sabotage. Your self talk says I want to lose and your hand reaches for the crackers while you open your mouth? How can that be? MO- a run off the rails is usually the result of just trying to beat yourself into submission. Need to strike a deal with the cracker part of you.
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I like that @countcurt "Mindfulness can be exhausting"0
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I had 3 months of that. I was taking a lot of meds and it made me fuzzy and weary. I was just plain tired along with tired of trying to be mindful. The result was a big gain (30#s). Then I went through a period of not getting my act together. I yo-yoed for 7 months. Now, I finally care enough and am losing again. So yes, been there done that.
This week my ML asked what we couldn't do when we were heavier. And what we could do now. It made me realize that I can't "have it all". I can't do ALL that I want to do, because some of what I want to do and be is dependent on making the decision to not eat everything I want to eat in the quantities I want to eat it. And the real kicker there is that when I eat as much as I want, I don't feel good, and I obviously don't want to feel yucky.
So for me, it's a matter of deciding what I want most. I've decided that I want to wear my smaller clothes, move easily, and have good energy and flexibility. But these things require that I eat in moderation and mindfully, and exercise. So now I have to follow through.
And why is it that when I'm on vacation I insist on overeating and drinking so that I gain weight that I then have to re-lose? I did it again Labor Day weekend at the cottage!
The human mind is a confusing thing ...1 -
I sometimes start saying to myself, oh go ahead eat it, you are eating well 90% of the time this one time won't hurt. And this may continue for days or weeks and the scale usually is the 2X4 that hits me in the head to stop the behavior. I also think I stray when I am not keeping other aspects of my life as active. You get bored, staying on plan is work and you just need some kind of break from only doing the "hard stuff" - I find if my day to day life is active and includes things I enjoy my WW lifestyle is very easy to follow.1
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Thanks for all your comments. I just need to Live the Lifestyle 24/7 and stay focused. I need to look forward to what I need to do and quit looking back on what I have accomplished.0
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Hey good point Jim although I might add one more. My Yoga teacher is really trying to get me not to look forward or backward but be in the moment. It is in the moment of daily habits that we are succeeding. This doesn't mean I wont look at a restaurant menu a day ahead to see what they offer. I do that. Hang in there buddy!0
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goldenfrisbee wrote: »I like that @countcurt "Mindfulness can be exhausting"
Thanks. Keep in mind that it's not a high intensity exhaustion. But over time the constant need for mindfulness can be very wearing.
Last week I was in the dining room at work and decided to enjoy a cinnamon roll. One of my colleagues commented on my 'incredible' ability to eat so much [junk] and 'never gain weight'. She didn't 'know me when'. NSV, for sure.
That said, she also didn't know how much thought I typically have to put into a decision like that about a foodstuff-
"Is it worth it?"
"What will I not be able to eat/drink later to have this?
"Will the scale show an unfriendly reading because I've done too much of this?"
I don't really know what kinds of internal discussions other 'naturally thin people' have about these things. I just know that for me, it's a lot.0
This discussion has been closed.