Living the Lifestyle Monday Oct 23
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podkey
Posts: 5,105 Member
Fall into Fall with our weight and our brain.
QOTD: How do we make words and thoughts work for us?? (below)
OK just got off a plane but here goes some ideas. I cringe a bit at how words are used against us. I went to a Trader Joe's in SoCal and they had a big display sign saying "Fall into chips and dips".
That's like the old school "I fell into a bag of chips and ate my way out". In my case my weight went down during fall and winter as I joined at about Halloween. My weight "fell" for Fall.
I know many of us are emotional eaters and can equate food with comfort, sex, whatever. How can (or can we) change the words or adopt new ones. I had one WW leader who never talked using the words "lost weight" and was very clever about it. She didn't want us to think about it in terms of something to be found again. I wish I could remember how she worded it. Somehow celebrated each five pounds "gone".
What are some positive things we can think of going into this time of year when our weight falls or can fall??
QOTD: How do we make words and thoughts work for us?? (below)
OK just got off a plane but here goes some ideas. I cringe a bit at how words are used against us. I went to a Trader Joe's in SoCal and they had a big display sign saying "Fall into chips and dips".
That's like the old school "I fell into a bag of chips and ate my way out". In my case my weight went down during fall and winter as I joined at about Halloween. My weight "fell" for Fall.
I know many of us are emotional eaters and can equate food with comfort, sex, whatever. How can (or can we) change the words or adopt new ones. I had one WW leader who never talked using the words "lost weight" and was very clever about it. She didn't want us to think about it in terms of something to be found again. I wish I could remember how she worded it. Somehow celebrated each five pounds "gone".
What are some positive things we can think of going into this time of year when our weight falls or can fall??
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Lifestyle is the word I keep coming back to. It's what drives my decisions. I want to live a healthy, long life and I want to make decisions that support that. I also want to live a fun life. I don't want to miss experiences because I am letting my weight or fear of eating out and going "off-diet" drive my decisions.
Prime example was yesterday. My SO and I wanted to do a date after football, but neither of us had had any activity that day. I wanted to go out and do something fun but I also wanted to be active and healthy. We grabbed our bikes and biked over to the neighboring town for a dinner out. I had a great time, got my activity in, and enjoyed a reasonable menu option. I made decisions that supported exactly how I want to live my life: active, fun, and healthy.2 -
I believe words (spoken or in our minds) can have an impact. I'm pretty good with that part of the process. I tend to be positive and not highly emotional and I preach that to friends/spouse/co workers.
My issue at this time of year is more physical/weather related. I already put a plan in place to overcome falling into the "it's cold; it's dark & I don't want to do anything" aspect of the transition to fall/winter.1 -
Excellent question.
I focus on changes I can adopt for life...therefore, creating the lifestyle I want to live for the rest of my life. This keeps me focused on the positive aspects of what I am doing, without getting too Pollyanish about it.
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Bad words made me fat.0
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I don't tell myself I love food. I don't love pizza, or cookies, or even pumpkin pie. My emotional response to food other than satisfaction is an exaggeration. And going around saying I love food is unhelpful. If I love pizza, it would make sense that I want to spend as much time with it as possible.
Another word I avoid here is starvation. Having never been starving, I've never gone into starvation mode. If starvation mode actually exists, it applies to people who are, well, starving. Truth is, I am blessed in that I've never been more than a little hungry now and again. Sometimes that is a bit uncomfortable. But it's only temporary.0 -
I have a few words about certain WORDS.
My WW ML has certain things she will not allow to be said at her meetings:
1. No references to farm animals (like I ate like a pig, cow horse etc) She says it's not fair to the animal Haha.
2. Not allowed to say "only" with any loss, like I only lost a pound. ANY Loss is a good thing.
Keeping positive is important especially when things are not going the way you want.
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I totally agree. No point in being Pollyanna-ish about our style in life. I also believe that using positive words and thought can be useful too. For me personally approaching every fall and winter with "this is the holidays and gaining season" isn't that useful. For whatever reasons several us in our WW groups incl myself joined WW in the fall and have done ok. For me waiting until "just the right time" in January or Feb. or March or such isn't somehow easing into the current style in my life. I actually had neither positive or negative views of long term outcomes other than WW is a sensible approach and when I stay in the moment I have the feeling something positive may happen. I don't make unrealistic expectations but I also learned that my old "set point" of let's say 178 LB just went away. I honestly didn't think about it too much until one day unexpectedly I sailed by that mark down to the 155ish to 160ish range. I have had that "expectation" in the past but just let go of expectations this time around. Wherever I might have ended up I was happy with the process.
My yoga lady is positive in getting us to be more in the moment. We lose the expectation of perhaps being 18 y/o again in looks or perhaps physical prowess. We also neither see that as "good" or "bad" but the way we are today and enjoy it.1 -
Another one to avoid is saying we "can't have" something. We can choose not to have it. Choose to have it at another time, another day, but to see a food as forbidden makes some of us (ME!) want it even more and feel deprived.2
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Nice Jim nice. In my view there are no "only" losses. Part of that is that I had no expectations of time and loss. How could anyone know the future with certainty? So how can I predict when I might be down 0.01 lb or 5 lb? If we become process oriented it doesn't matter anyway does it??
I also like Lin's thinking about the "can't"s. I don't really have any "can't"s . I might only eat some things rarely but I haven't thought of saying "can't".0 -
I'm not sure it's exactly what you're looking for Bob, but there's two that come to mind.
First, I don't know a word or phrase for it (maybe 'practice makes persistence'?), but I think we have to bear in mind that we in essence 'train' all year for many of the challenges that come this time of year. We know it's coming; we know it can be challenging. We know a lot of tools and strategies to keep ourselves out of trouble. We know the plan is no good if you don't work it. Persistence is what can get us to our goals but we have to practice it to make it work. Perfection is not the objective so there's room for some enjoyment and indulgence. Knowing how we want to come out of this time of year can help us set our compass to achieve that outcome. It's all up to us...
Hand in hand with this one, I used to say on the WW GOAD board, 'From this day, Forward'. I got hung up for a while realizing how fat I got over the last 10-15 years. While I was happy for the NSV of working my way back down through my closet, I was kicking myself for having gained so freakin' much weight! A little straight-talk from @MurpleCat helped straighten me out. Yeah, I had been thinner. Yeah, I got fatter. But all that was behind me and what was really important was what was ahead of me--looking forward. The truth is we can slip this time of year (any time, but especially now). I think it's important to keep our goals in mind and focus on what's ahead of us. Don't turn an out-of-control day into days or weeks. Start fresh and move in the direction of your goals, no matter what.0 -
I banished the word 'cheat' from my food related lexicon. They're choices. That's all. But if I'm intent on making not so great choices, it's more helpful to be less judgemental about it and just try to figure out why I'm struggling.5
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Words are so powerful.
I refuse to call any food "bad" based on its nutritional value--only on its quality
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What are some positive things we can think of going into this time of year when our weight falls or can fall??
Everyday, I have multiple chances to make choices that are going to help me achieve what I really want.0
