Living the lifestyle (LTL) - Wednesday, 6/28/17
minimyzeme
Posts: 2,708 Member
Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.
Monday -- whathapnd (Emmie)
Tuesday -- RedSassyPants
Wednesday -- minimyzeme (Kim)
Thursday -- Wild Card Day--open to anyone who grabs it!
Friday -- Tripaway
Today’s topic: Leaning into positive change
Many of us are creatures of habit with respect to eating and / or activity. It might be overgeneralizing but for some, the older we are, the more set in our ways we are. This combination can lead to a pattern of behavior that becomes habit and isn’t likely to change without deliberate intent.
In making weight loss or maintenance a lifestyle, how have you changed your routine such that you disrupted your old self and introduced a new ‘lifestyle-compatible’ thing that has become new habit(s)?
Were you able to make the switch all at once or did you make the change over time?
How about excuses—did you initially make excuses for why you couldn’t change? If so, were they legitimate or was it more a matter of reconfiguring your life—moving some things out to move other things in?
Lastly, how long has the change lasted? Do you feel confident it will serve you well over the long-term or are you still getting used to it, unsure how long it will last?
Discuss—any and all of it!
Monday -- whathapnd (Emmie)
Tuesday -- RedSassyPants
Wednesday -- minimyzeme (Kim)
Thursday -- Wild Card Day--open to anyone who grabs it!
Friday -- Tripaway
Today’s topic: Leaning into positive change
Many of us are creatures of habit with respect to eating and / or activity. It might be overgeneralizing but for some, the older we are, the more set in our ways we are. This combination can lead to a pattern of behavior that becomes habit and isn’t likely to change without deliberate intent.
In making weight loss or maintenance a lifestyle, how have you changed your routine such that you disrupted your old self and introduced a new ‘lifestyle-compatible’ thing that has become new habit(s)?
Were you able to make the switch all at once or did you make the change over time?
How about excuses—did you initially make excuses for why you couldn’t change? If so, were they legitimate or was it more a matter of reconfiguring your life—moving some things out to move other things in?
Lastly, how long has the change lasted? Do you feel confident it will serve you well over the long-term or are you still getting used to it, unsure how long it will last?
Discuss—any and all of it!
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Replies
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I've been retired 18 months.
Like all big transitions there are opportunities and dangers. I've seen people in my family go full Gladys Kravitz. So even before retirement I embarked on a project to keep trying new stuff. I read somewhere that new stuff is the front line in the battle against negative consequences of aging.
A lifelong guitar chord strummer, starting at age 60, I took lessons in Chicago at The Oldtown School of Folk Music. I even took singing lessons. It was great fun.
In Key West I've taken up Pickleball. I can't say enough good stuff about it. I've even been on a paddle board. I've been in Pilates classes for 10 years. Continuing that, but now branching out into yoga.
I can sum it up best with this. I got into yoga here via a guided meditation class trying to sleep better at night. In the meditation we have to have an intention. The intention I came up with- "I'm happy to try new things."
I'll say it again, it's become my GOAD mantra-Weight loss is liberation.
Everything I do in a day is because I set out to lose weight and kept at it. It took years and came in stages. But I never really gave up.
Unsolicited advice- move here to Key West. OK you all probably wouldn't like it. But it's not the big drunken vacation party you may think. There's this whole fun active outdoors good heath thing here. There are other places like this with different sets of activities. You have one in mind. Go there.
PS I may try some sort of art class next.
PPS A book I was reading about retirement suggested retiring to a place where you think you don't quite fit in. Reminded me of my WW meeting.2 -
Habits are good things to keep losses/ maintenance going hence 16 week award etc. I swktched from a worldclass breakfast cereal to daily veggie omelet with newer version of WW.
I was always active but with injuries and hospital time started daily walking. I now walk 3-4 miles after coffee and do yoga class in addition to some biking.I must as I am over 70 y/o.
I do hate change for change sake though.2 -
My excuse was always that I was too busy for weight loss.
To be fair-I did work 30 hours a week while attending University full time (and graduated with a 4 year degree before I could legally drink) so I was pretty busy. Grad school was the same excuse, until my graduate school research lead me to joining a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club on campus. All of a sudden my excuse of no time was no longer valid and I had no excuse to not adjust my eating to coordinate with my increased activity. It also helped that I had almost no food budget during those two years so I couldn't afford to eat out even if I wanted to.
I had a hard time keeping the weight off when I moved states, transitioned jobs 3 times in one year, moved 4 times in 4 years, etc. I did end up regaining some of the weight and I did have to go back to losing it mode. I did gain quite a bit back and I did have to go back to weight loss mode last year. But I'm now at a place where my clothes fit comfortably and I feel pretty good about my body. I'm not as low of a number as I used to be, but I don't think that number was sustainable. I had to learn how to create routine amidst a life who's routine is constantly changing.
Now I'm in an extremely stable job with a stable relationship and we're buying a house this year so I won't have to worry about constantly moving (YES!). I still have to be conscious about what I put in my mouth, but physical activity is second nature to me and I binge eat much much less than before. I hope that this will serve me well over the long term, but I can't shake the fear that my previous self, previous habits, and the slide to obesity are always lurking there.2 -
I'm a change over time person. It's taken me awhile to change my habits to lose weight. I didn't do so well at keeping it off so I'm back again.
I broke my leg and then developed chronic tendinitis in my other foot. I've been waiting to recover so I could get back into running and hiking again. I've now decided that may or may not happen so I need to get into other kinds of activities. 20 years ago, I get hit by a car while bicycling. I stress out when I'm on a bicycle and hear a car behind me on busy roads. I'm thinking yoga, mountain biking on gentle trails, or even gulp swimming laps. (Swimming laps is boring for me) I can walk for almost an hour, so I walk on our local trails.
In other parts of my life, I retired 4 years ago and moved from the big city to a little tourist town of about 3,000 people. Because it is a tourist town in beautiful country, we have lots of plays, good restaurants and lots of activities. We moved from a little house on a little lot to a much bigger house and 6 acres. Most of the 6 acres is natural, but I'm learning lots about gardening and deer resistant plants.
We just came back from rafting the Grand Canyon. It was so much fun that we will do it again. We are leaving in a few weeks to go scuba diving with our dive club. We go diving with the same group of people every year in the Caribbean.
I think I need to follow @88olds example and get into some new stuff.
Good topic @minimyzeme2 -
Its been slow, but the accumulation of small changes over time can really add up. To the point where family say (jokingly) "Who are you and what did you do with the real Murple?" And a friend actually said to me, "You're lucky -- you don't like french fries and other junk!" Um. what? Of course I like that stuff. I just never order it. He thought I never ordered it because I didn't like it! That's just crazy talk. But it did make me realize that I was doing pretty well with the "fake it till you make it" model. I was faking people out. And then, after years of doing that, I realize that was actually me -- the script had flipped. The healthy me was the real me, and the only fake-out was the lizard brain hanging onto the old vision of me. So it was time to let go of that!
I had all kinds of excuses why I didn't want to put in the effort on any given day. That's why the weight loss took so long, really. I lost 100#, gained 25#, lost 50#, gained ... well, you get it.
Then last year I was diagnosed T1D. That forced an abrupt change of habits unlike the slow gradual change I had been making with WW. But the consequences of 'slipping' or giving in to excuses would be immediate and dire, so motivation wasn't really an issue. This is just my new normal.
I'm still discovering all kinds of surprising things about my new normal. This weekend I sat on the floor cross-legged and my foot didn't fall asleep. I could also sit with my knees tucked up under my chin like I did when I was a kid. It definitely made me feel younger than my 47 years. Someone offered me a hand when I got up from the floor, and they pulled me easily to my feet -- I've always pulled them down to the ground, before. Sleeping on a twin bed seemed like plenty of room. And for the first time, I had to be one of the 3 people who sat in the backseat of a sedan because I was one of the 'small' people, instead of automatically getting shotgun as the fattest person. None of these are huge, life-changing events: but they are re-orienting my picture of myself. Once these things become part of my identity, I think they will be pretty securely attached & I don't worry about them disappearing on me.4 -
I do much better with change if I take it in baby steps. For example, my daily exercise habit started back in 2001 with the commitment to just set foot inside my fitness center. It persisted through the stress of my father's long illness and eventual death as well as the stress of my master's and doctoral programs.
I started making changes to my diet back in 2006 when I had to remove dairy and gluten. Those changes took much longer to evolve and settle into what I consider my norm these days.
I feel as though my dietary and activity habits are firmly ingrained now. Even though I'm sure there will be other challenges in my life as the years go by, I don't believe that I will toss these healthy habits by the wayside.1 -
how have you changed your routine such that you disrupted your old self and introduced a new ‘lifestyle-compatible’ thing that has become new habit(s)?
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Wow Kim your LTL opened the floodgates! Lots of great posts.
For me so much positive change has been the foundation of my LTL.
As far as new habits the biggest change has been exercise. I began in 2013 with some floor aerobics but @376# it was too hard on my ankles/knees, so I switched to aqua aerobics. Now I go 5 to 7 days a week! I added swimming 1/4 mile laps in 2015/16. This year I increased laps to 1/2 mile before or after my aqua Aerobics class.1 -
Great topic!
In making weight loss or maintenance a lifestyle, how have you changed your routine such that you disrupted your old self and introduced a new ‘lifestyle-compatible’ thing that has become new habit(s)?
For me, it's been about Creating a routine.. or re-discovering one perhaps.
When I was younger and more devoted to physical fitness (mostly due to caring about athletic performance), I had a lot of rituals.. I had training, lots and lots of training.. couldn't afford to eat out very often, but my calorie demands from training meant I could eat anything that moved slower than I did and still not gain an ounce. Between school, training, and work - my life was very prioritized and strict.
As I got older, priorities changed ... career, family took over, and as I found success in those, I realized a new sense of freedom from the strict routines. I could afford to eat out, and family likes to go do family things like vacations and celebratory dinners, neighborhood potlucks, etc. Training became less and less of a priority, and there wasn't much routine to my life. I took it as it came, and enjoyed it while packing on weight.
Once I decided that it was time to do something about my ill-fitting clothes (after changing up size a few times.. I think it must be the washing machine shrinking them! Yeah, that's it...), I had to make some changes... training became a priority, which meant I had to manage my time better to make room for that. And that meant getting back into a routine, because I learned fairly quickly that if I just tried to fit workouts in "whenever" that they never get done.
Then came MFP - when I started tracking, I learned very quickly that it really takes a fair amount of work to be accurate at it.. and since I am a somewhat lazy person, I started falling into routines of eating.. Much easier to track if I eat the same thing today as I did yesterday, because I know it fits my daily plan.
Other things are much smaller, but add up.. Keeping a water bottle at my desk instead of a soda can. Filling up my water bottle for the car ride home... Drinking another glass before dinner. Getting up more often at work.. taking a walk at lunch.. walking while waiting for my daughter to finish swim.. taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking in the far corner at Costco etc.. I've made it into my own personal contest - like I'm getting points for discovering new ways to be active throughout the day, not just during my 'designated workout times' - because looking at reality may suck, but the truth is that I don't have 4 hours a day to train, so I have to get creative.
Were you able to make the switch all at once or did you make the change over time?
I really don't know.. some things like my rescheduling to make room for workouts was pretty sudden.. other things have just dovetailed into my life as my fitness became more of a priority.
How about excuses—did you initially make excuses for why you couldn’t change? If so, were they legitimate or was it more a matter of reconfiguring your life—moving some things out to move other things in?
Sure! I was a professional excuse maker for years until I decided that I better do something. I think the biggest one was "ok, I'm getting a little heavier but.. I can start to deal with that tomorrow." My other favorites were "I'm too busy", "I don't want to be embarrassed being the fat guy trying to get in shape"
It wasn't until I was diagnosed with cancer that I realized that if I wanted to change that I better do it NOW.. because tomorrow isn't guaranteed.
Lastly, how long has the change lasted? Do you feel confident it will serve you well over the long-term or are you still getting used to it, unsure how long it will last?
I've had a few instances of letting "life creep back in".. it isn't that these changes are unsustainable to me, so much as it is making sure that I keep my priorities straight.1 -
Fantastic insight, GOADies--thanks so much!
The reason I asked the question was that in our first June WW meeting, the leader reminded us the year was half-over. She challenged us to think of and implement one thing that would be a game-changer for our weight loss plans. Initially, I blew it off but I had that nagging feeling so I decided she was on-track and I really should make a dedicated effort to expand my good health plan.
In making weight loss or maintenance a lifestyle, how have you changed your routine such that you disrupted your old self and introduced a new ‘lifestyle-compatible’ thing that has become new habit(s)? and Were you able to make the switch all at once or did you make the change over time?
I have known for over a year now I need to make more time for moving / exercise. It's not that it didn't exist at all, just that it wasn't consistent. I live out of town and know myself well enough to know that I won't do trips to town for a gym workout long-term. So I decided to start by simply making time for walking. I tried running in my distant past and it kicked my butt so it left a bad impression. But I've read enough on GOAD and heard from my WW gang that just walking can be a great piece of the better health puzzle. Since that early June WW meeting, I've made a point of getting out and walking probably 3/4 of the days. It's a start.
How about excuses—did you initially make excuses for why you couldn’t change? If so, were they legitimate or was it more a matter of reconfiguring your life—moving some things out to move other things in?
Total excuse maker here. I realized that despite 'being busy' and choosing to do other things, the truth is I easily waste enough time during the day that I could fit a 3-4-5-mile walk in with absolutely no problem. Like many things for me, it was a matter of deciding it was important enough--or better yet--a choice I wanted to make. After having done if for the better part of a month, I'm finding I really do like it! Though I'm not typically one to walk roads, I found one nearby that's got very little traffic and it cuts through State Forest lands. It's got enough elevation change to make it a little challenging without kicking my butt. So far, getting that walk in has been about reconfiguring my life to make this time a priority instead of something I make a zillion excuses about.
Lastly, how long has the change lasted? Do you feel confident it will serve you well over the long-term or are you still getting used to it, unsure how long it will last?
So far, it's only been about a month. I'm hesitant to say I'm reformed and will do this the rest of my life. However, I find I look forward to it and make time for it most days which leads me to believe that I'll keep going with it. I'd prefer to just walk right from home but I know too many neighbors which leads to them wanting to chat it up as I walk by. Driving to my preferred road feels goofy but the experience is so much more fulfilling that it's worth it. Truthfully, I don't know how long it will last but as with my food intake, I know I'll do it again one more day...and that's all I really have to know.1
This discussion has been closed.