My FIRST WEEK, Sucked.
KTaurusW0516
Posts: 126 Member
Not gonna lie, my first week was terrible. It was completely on and off on my diet. I'm definitely motivated now. However, in the worst way possible. My 'busy' life schedule is crazy. Right now, I'm running on 44 minutes of sleep and the night before it was four hours of sleep. I haven't even worked out! I workout one day and then I was busy, again! I keep putting my health last because, work, home life/family, and finally HEALTH! My motivation is out and burning. Like, if I can make my brain get in line and focus on work, health, and home life/family. I be on a roll in life.
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Replies
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My advice would be to work on your mindset first. I find that if you think of it as a diet you are doomed to struggle. It’s our natural rebellious nature taking over.
Think of it as a lifestyle change. It takes 28 days to create a habit. What is the one thing that you can do this week to make you a priority?
When my children were babies l, my one thing was to stretch when I got up no matter the time of day. I reach my hands all the way up and stare at the ceiling and count to 10. Then I would touch the floor and count to 10 while the screaming continued. They never noticed that extra minute but it was just enough to help me relax. Over the years I’ve increased it. When I decided to lose weight I made my stretching a little more vigorous and it has helped as I start the day with “exercise.”
For me... my lifestyle changes are #1 stretch #2 sleep (which I have met been doing well this week) #3 water (still struggle with this, I think I’m part camel!) #4 stress level and then I look at what I am eating. This gives me more energy and creates more healthy habits.
Remember each day is a new day to start fresh!14 -
KTaurusW0516 wrote: »Not gonna lie, my first week was terrible. It was completely on and off on my diet. I'm definitely motivated now. However, in the worst way possible. My 'busy' life schedule is crazy. Right now, I'm running on 44 minutes of sleep and the night before it was four hours of sleep. I haven't even worked out! I workout one day and then I was busy, again! I keep putting my health last because, work, home life/family, and finally HEALTH! My motivation is out and burning. Like, if I can make my brain get in line and focus on work, health, and home life/family. I be on a roll in life.
Oh honey, you can't function, much less thrive, on that amount of sleep. If I were you, I'd make rest priority #1. I don't know what season of life you're in (little ones, etc.) but 4 hours and 44 minutes just doesn't cut it.13 -
@KTaurusW0516, as a working mom of 2 young children, with a husband and a home to take care of,
I totally understand where you’re coming from. It’s so easy to put yourself last, but you know what? You’re not doing yourself or your family any favors by doing so. Focus on taking care of you and the rest will fall into place.
Also, if it all seems too overwhelming for you right now, try taking baby steps instead. For one week, simply record everything you eat to the best of your ability: the good, the bad, and the ugly. And absolutely get some sleep if you can! I can tell you that I’m an absolute bear if I don’t get at least 6 hours, and that’s not fun for anyone.
Above all, don’t be so hard on yourself. You can do this! Feel free to friend me if you like. ❤️9 -
If your goal is to lose weight, focus on diet first. You can always add exercise later. And you can add it in increments. Working out doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as a five minute walk while food is cooking in the microwave. Or pacing back and forth for extra steps while on the phone. Make time for more sleep. Log your food even if you go over on calories.9
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Exercise is not required for weight loss. Obviously it helps, and it's good for health, but trying to exercise on top of lack of sleep could actually be bad for you.
So start out focusing on rest and diet. Set a reasonable weekly weight loss goal, and just start accurately logging your food. Pick one small change per week, and don't add in more until you've got the first one down to a habit. And just move a little more, whenever you can. You can add exercise later.
Baby steps is much better than full speed-crash full speed-crash. Good luck!9 -
Make sleep your #1 priority, because lack of sleep contributes to weight gain and numerous other health problems. Plus--and I mean this seriously--it can lead to depression and other mental health problems. BTDT that through having 2 preemies. I strongly recommend you take at least one night/week for a "sleep vacation" and do whatever you need to do to start stringing together 6-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Message me on how to do it at home or for more info. It is totally worth it.6
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My advice would be to work on your mindset first. I find that if you think of it as a diet you are doomed to struggle. It’s our natural rebellious nature taking over.
Think of it as a lifestyle change. It takes 28 days to create a habit. What is the one thing that you can do this week to make you a priority?
When my children were babies l, my one thing was to stretch when I got up no matter the time of day. I reach my hands all the way up and stare at the ceiling and count to 10. Then I would touch the floor and count to 10 while the screaming continued. They never noticed that extra minute but it was just enough to help me relax. Over the years I’ve increased it. When I decided to lose weight I made my stretching a little more vigorous and it has helped as I start the day with “exercise.”
For me... my lifestyle changes are #1 stretch #2 sleep (which I have met been doing well this week) #3 water (still struggle with this, I think I’m part camel!) #4 stress level and then I look at what I am eating. This gives me more energy and creates more healthy habits.
Remember each day is a new day to start fresh!
I love this, I've been told many ideas in my lifetime. I was told to focus on my diet and other time was focus on my workouts. Never, did I think like this before. I'm definitely keeping this on my mind. Thank you for the advise.
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witchaywoman81 wrote: »@KTaurusW0516, as a working mom of 2 young children, with a husband and a home to take care of,
I totally understand where you’re coming from. It’s so easy to put yourself last, but you know what? You’re not doing yourself or your family any favors by doing so. Focus on taking care of you and the rest will fall into place.
Also, if it all seems too overwhelming for you right now, try taking baby steps instead. For one week, simply record everything you eat to the best of your ability: the good, the bad, and the ugly. And absolutely get some sleep if you can! I can tell you that I’m an absolute bear if I don’t get at least 6 hours, and that’s not fun for anyone.
Above all, don’t be so hard on yourself. You can do this! Feel free to friend me if you like. ❤️
Luckily, I believe this was a rare weekend of bad sleep. However, I do most times get from four to eight hours of sleep. It depends on the plans lined up for me to do. I love recording the good days but, its cringe worthy putting in the bad and ugly. However, thats what pushes me to do great the next day.4 -
emmamcgarity wrote: »If your goal is to lose weight, focus on diet first. You can always add exercise later. And you can add it in increments. Working out doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as a five minute walk while food is cooking in the microwave. Or pacing back and forth for extra steps while on the phone. Make time for more sleep. Log your food even if you go over on calories.
Thank you, I'll definitely add that to my daily thinking. My Grandmother taught me, from observing her, that walking while talking on the phone is great exercise. She would walk around all over the house and pace back and forth while, on the phone or waiting for food to cook.3 -
I don't have kids, quite yet. However, its my motivation to get myself healthy to be sure my future babies have a healthy, strong life. My family is my younger siblings (my sister needs extra attention, three times a week.) and, my boyfriends family is pretty much, my family. It's hard to work (trying to work a lot, to make more money), keep a clean home, visit family and be there for family events (which happens often), and just flat out being an adult and trying to do everything right.
Update: My boyfriend agreed I needed sleep, too. Got my 'sleep vacation' before going to work. Got a solid ten hours of sleep with only one interruption. It was the best thing in the world. I even got a small workout in before going into work.
What I'm changing in my life, from reading the comments. I'm for sure, trying the stretching in the morning, I'll be planning to get at least six hours of sleep (no matter what), and this week I'll be taking Pop away (Did that for one week but, started drinking it again.)6 -
Balancing family/work/events/health/exercise/sleep/meal planning etc. is hard, and sometimes just downright impossible. The best thing you can do is try to incorporate a few things into one. For example, I am a single mom of a 3 year old and I want to be more active. There are days that she will let me do my zumba or bike riding while she plays and other days she needs my constant attention or we've been busy and I don't want to let my exercise interfere with my quality time with her, so we will go on "nature walks" or "scavenger hunts" together. Gets me moving, she has fun and we are spending time together.
Focus on your diet first, it is really the easiest, but you do have to set aside a little time (I typically do at work) to plan out your meals/write out your grocery store list. It takes some organizational skills, for sure. Dieting isn't something you can do spur of the moment. You have to plan, prepare and pack your meals.
Also, darling! You must manage to get some more sleep. I see that you are trying, and I know 8 hours is nearly impossible. I try to make it to 6, sometimes get more and sometimes get less, but it is very important for your overall health.
Best of luck to you!1 -
KTaurusW0516 wrote: »Not gonna lie, my first week was terrible. It was completely on and off on my diet. I'm definitely motivated now. However, in the worst way possible. My 'busy' life schedule is crazy. Right now, I'm running on 44 minutes of sleep and the night before it was four hours of sleep. I haven't even worked out! I workout one day and then I was busy, again! I keep putting my health last because, work, home life/family, and finally HEALTH! My motivation is out and burning. Like, if I can make my brain get in line and focus on work, health, and home life/family. I be on a roll in life.
A few people have stated EXACTLY what I was going to suggest, so I will just throw in an example from my life.
For me, everything is mindset. You have likely heard this before, but I will put here in black and white...read the following OUT LOUD (excuse me, not shouting....just want the 'out loud' part to be clear):
If you think that you can not do something, then guess what? You are correct!
However, if you think that you CAN DO something, then you are correct as well!
Think about that.
So, my story. I was doing powerlifting. I was doing Keto. I have high A1C so Keto work well for me. To me, you gotta be healthy, first and foremost. Then, and only then, can you be fit.
I have struggling in the gym with power lifting. It is rough on Keto. So, in a moment of unclarity, I decided that I was not going to do Keto anymore. So, this is the example of my mindset being completely incorrect. After one week+, I realized the error in my thought process (read: mindset) and went back to Keto (and, for other reasons, put powerlifting on hold). My mindset was back! Healthy, then fit!
Anyway, I hope that this helps...2 -
So, maybe another way to look at things: Schedule your priorities. Think about that one, too!3
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Lack of sleep is stalling your weight loss and may even add to fat accumulation as it affects our hormones in a very drastic way. Make at least 7 hrs of sleep a night THE priority right now, and perhaps introduce a 10-min body scan as a way to relax and improve your hormonal balance, too. You can find many good guided body scans on YouTube.
Best of luck!2 -
Practice makes perfect
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You're allowed to ease into a healthier lifestyle. It does not need to be all or nothing. We all have bad days;the objective is to have more good days than bad. Make better choices, just one at a time.
Best of luck on your journey!4 -
Did you last a week of logging? If so, you are doing better that a lot of people that join. So take the making it one week as a success.
If anything, look at your first week as a baseline: to see where you're at. That way you know where to make small changes to help you get to where you want to be.
If you need help or advice or just someone to vent to, feel free to add me.4 -
44 minutes of sleep?!1
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44 minutes of sleep?!
A week ago today, I got 44 minutes of sleep. Due to a bad day. Friday's are my hell day's of the week or a Monday. I work 7am-3pm then I come back and work Midnight to 8am. Not counting I get up an hour early due to the drive and the rule of being 10 minutes early. I had plans at 4pm to 9pm and I manage to get a 44 minute nap in. Today, was a good day and I got six hours of sleep before work. Which, the max, pushing it may be seven hours.0 -
Do small things to start. Maybe drink more water-that will help regulate bowel movements and keep you hydrated which (may) help you sleep. It did for me. Instant changes. Then, move onto other small changes. That's exactly what I am doing. Good Luck.2
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Circadian rhythms matter. That's your 24 hour clock running in the background - sleep/wake cycles. There's a dip
in the middle of the night around 3 am and one again in the afternoon at 3 pm. You won't notice them so much if your sleep patterns are regular.
Being sleep deprived all of the time slows your metabolism down, down, down. Ghrelin, leptin become out of whack = weight gain. You've got to find some way to get regular sleep.1 -
Is that why I wake up almost every night around 3?0
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RetiredAndLovingIt wrote: »Is that why I wake up almost every night around 3?
It happens. How's your overall sleep patterns?0 -
RetiredAndLovingIt wrote: »Is that why I wake up almost every night around 3?
I do, but only because I'm old and I need to pee.
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snickerscharlie wrote: »RetiredAndLovingIt wrote: »Is that why I wake up almost every night around 3?
I do, but only because I'm old and I need to pee.
Lol, my Mom does the same thing. She will text me random stuff or tag me in stuff around 3 AM.0 -
I definitely agree with a lot of what people have told you. I definitely think that sleep is key and has a huge impact on every aspect of your life when you don’t get enough. I know it feels awful when you are recording your food, exercise etc when you feel like you have not been eating the right things or doing enough exercise but I love what someone else told you as far by just sticking with it for the week is more than a lot of other people do and also recording everything the good and the bad and using it as a start point/ benchmark. As you do start getting more sleep, eating better and doing some exercise you will be able to see it recorded how you are improving.
We have a tendency to beat ourselves up so be kind to yourself and cut yourself some slack. I am giving you this advice because i also need to do the same for myself. It’s my first week and I have been doing pretty good but today I can see as I am recording things that I have not ate well today or done enough exercise but I am not beating myself up over it like I would have done in the past. Instead I am recording it all, seeing I did not meet my goals today but that’s ok because tomorrow is a new day and I will get back on track. You are not really going to succeed if you don’t get the proper sleep or rest so for now if it’s a choice between sleep and exercise I would say sleep. There are going to be ups and downs but remember you have us all here to support you and help where we can. Look after yourself1 -
The beginning is always hard, just put one foot in front of the other and no matter what, never give up.1
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You dont necessarily need exercise to lose weight. Maybe just concentrate on your diet?1
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I'm sure like is hard, we all have our things, but YOU and your health (mind/body/soul) is A#1! Nope I don't already o so this well, but I did NOT learn this from my family. My loving mom always put others first. She now realizes how important it is to take care of herself. It's the old adage of cup can't runner over if not enough to give. Do what you can and do small things. Give yourself a hug (seriously!) Breathe intentionally then go for an15 min walk after dinner. It feels so good! I'm here and not perfect and definitely struggle with sleep as it's 1:25am and have bipolar depression. But I'm here for you if you want!1
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HealthyRebirth wrote: »I'm sure like is hard, we all have our things, but YOU and your health (mind/body/soul) is A#1! Nope I don't already o so this well, but I did NOT learn this from my family. My loving mom always put others first. She now realizes how important it is to take care of herself. It's the old adage of cup can't runner over if not enough to give. Do what you can and do small things. Give yourself a hug (seriously!) Breathe intentionally then go for an15 min walk after dinner. It feels so good! I'm here and not perfect and definitely struggle with sleep as it's 1:25am and have bipolar depression. But I'm here for you if you want!
Thank you, Ill have to give the walk after dinner a try.0
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