How do you get yourself into right mindset?
sarahstockstas
Posts: 3 Member
I gained the COVID 19 and have not been able to have the self control to get back in a healthy tracking/ intentional mindset. What do you do to kickstart this and how do you create a habit? Any inspiration much appreciated!
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Replies
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sarahstockstas wrote: »I gained the COVID 19 and have not been able to have the self control to get back in a healthy tracking/ intentional mindset. What do you do to kickstart this and how do you create a habit? Any inspiration much appreciated!
Kickstart: positive wording for a positive mindset 😉
"I gained weight recently but am determined to have self-control and intentionally maintain my health by tracking."
There are many strategic ways to go about habit formation (and "habit stacking") but you'll need to find what works for you and your personality.5 -
sarahstockstas wrote: »I gained the COVID 19 and have not been able to have the self control to get back in a healthy tracking/ intentional mindset. What do you do to kickstart this and how do you create a habit? Any inspiration much appreciated!
It started small for me. I started shopping at Aldi since they seem to be the most affordable for my budget, but that also forced me to change my eating habits because I was purchasing far more produce and healthy foods. I also organized my fridge (thanks tiktok) to help display foods easier and to make the more accessible.
Then, my gym reopened fully. I had switched from the Y to PF the classes I really loved at the Y were no longer available even though I was still paying full price. I never felt comfortable or motivated going to PF, so as soon as I could get back to the Y I did. I was so excited to join classes again that I sat down with my planner and logged classes into my schedule. I'll do anything from Yoga, to Spin, to Bootcamp, to Pound. I'm not picky.
One day, I decided to start getting up early before work. I work 12 hour shifts, so I don't get to the gym those days, but I needed to move. I started walking at 5am, and noticed my energy and mood lifting.
All of these things just happened naturally and gradually. Find what you enjoy doing and it will really help with the motivation.13 -
Wow - waking up to walk before a 12 hour shift! ♥️5
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Ironically, Covid helped me get BACK on track. I'd hadn't been tracking for a long time and slowly creeping up. Being at home every day now, I decided I needed to go for a walk on a regular basis to avoid cabin fever and that little bit of exercise got my mindset slow back back into groove.
For me, exercise is a big trigger, I think because subconsciously I don't want to waste the effort by eating poorly. So even though diet is more important than exercise from a math standpoint, psychologically for me, exercise is more important than diet.21 -
I'm a professional dog trainer and a dog sports competitor -- stick with me, I have a point.
One of the big principals in dog training is basically about laying a strong foundation, and only increasing the difficulty when you have success 80+ percent of the time. Another one is that you make getting it right as obvious and easy as you possibly can - you set up in a way that makes it almost impossible for the dog to get it wrong.
In weight loss, I am the dog.
There is no mindset for me, really. I started with a very simple, easy, foundation behavior that I built upon. For me that was tracking my food before I ate it. No restriction, nothing else. Just inputting what I ate into MFP. Everything else there - getting enough protein, getting used to a ceiling on my calories (at maintenance first), creating a deficit - built upon the previous steps and habits, a lot of which are individual to me and my psychology.
the basics are still just 'lay a foundation of easy behaviors, increase difficulty slowly, add new things only when successful at the previous'.
everyone wants to results now - in weight loss and dogs, actually - but that 'slow is fast' saying is accurate. You can go slow and lay a really good foundation - or you can rush ahead to try to get the results you want right now, and spend the next several years or decades fixing problems that result from the holes in your foundation.
breathe. Relax. Look and think about what things you'd like to see your life look like and then take the smallest, easiest step toward that. Get that ingrained. Then add another one. Troubleshoot when you find things getting hard about how you can make success easier.
LAY A FOUNDATION before you start building.45 -
Atomic Habits is a great book. A lot is common sense but great tools to build habits.9
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Brilliant post @wunderkindkingwunderkindking wrote: »I'm a professional dog trainer and a dog sports competitor -- stick with me, I have a point.
One of the big principals in dog training is basically about laying a strong foundation, and only increasing the difficulty when you have success 80+ percent of the time. Another one is that you make getting it right as obvious and easy as you possibly can - you set up in a way that makes it almost impossible for the dog to get it wrong.
In weight loss, I am the dog.
There is no mindset for me, really. I started with a very simple, easy, foundation behavior that I built upon. For me that was tracking my food before I ate it. No restriction, nothing else. Just inputting what I ate into MFP. Everything else there - getting enough protein, getting used to a ceiling on my calories (at maintenance first), creating a deficit - built upon the previous steps and habits, a lot of which are individual to me and my psychology.
the basics are still just 'lay a foundation of easy behaviors, increase difficulty slowly, add new things only when successful at the previous'.
everyone wants to results now - in weight loss and dogs, actually - but that 'slow is fast' saying is accurate. You can go slow and lay a really good foundation - or you can rush ahead to try to get the results you want right now, and spend the next several years or decades fixing problems that result from the holes in your foundation.
breathe. Relax. Look and think about what things you'd like to see your life look like and then take the smallest, easiest step toward that. Get that ingrained. Then add another one. Troubleshoot when you find things getting hard about how you can make success easier.
LAY A FOUNDATION before you start building.
Yes, yes, and yes!
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Baby steps & habits for the win
There is a group in here (Building Better Habits) that has this as it’s focus.
For me, I get back on track by
1) catching the slight slip early by being honest with myself, noticing when a habit is slipping, reminding myself of my Big Why
2) remembering that it only takes me 3 days to get back on track. I can do them right away & nip it in the bud or I can say “tomorrow” over & over & have even more work to do in future.
3) white knuckling on the end of 2nd & end of 3rd day, knowing it will be easy again on day 4.
Baby steps.
Self Kindness
Self Honesty
Habits
Having a reason you want to be healthy that overrides the temporary joy of overeating9 -
Me, I'm a big fan of "easy", so that it takes minimum willpower, determination, or discipline. Those are not my long suit, as a hedonistic old hippie type.
I lost 50+ pounds back in 2015-16, but had let my weight creep up ultra-slowly over about a 4-year period since, by around 10-15 pounds. When my jeans got tight, I decided to lose those vanity pounds by creeping weight down ultra-slowly, at about a pound a month rate. It was practically painless (but took a long time, obviously).
Even back in 2015, when losing weight at a pretty good clip, my thought process was about finding the easier route: Making eating changes that reduced things that mattered less to me (but had a higher calorie "cost"), trying new foods intentionally to identify things that were calorie-efficient/tasty/filling/practical, adopting activity increases (exercise or daily life) that were at minimum tolerable and ideally enjoyable, etc.
During loss, my general rule was that I wasn't going to do anything to lose weight that I wasn't willing to continue permanently, except for a moderate calorie deficit. Weight loss was a process of experimenting to find, and groove in, the habits for maintenance. (Though I did gain those few pounds, I think the general approach was a good one. I had been obese or near to it for about 30 years, up until 2015, and have been in a healthy weight range the whole time since, despite the 10-15 pound regain, and the tools I'd learned over those years made the slow re-loss extremely easy. I'm back in goal range now.)
Too often, it's tempting to adopt a new routine to "lose weight fast" that's fraught with giving up many things one enjoys, eating less-enjoyable so-called " diet foods" or "superfoods" instead, following some miserable/exhausting exercise regimen, and generally treating weight loss as a challenging project with an end date, after which things go back to normal.
For me, that doesn't end well. For me, weight management is a lifelong endeavor now, which puts a premium on figuring out how to do it via habits that are relatively easy, and surely sustainable.
(I, too, think @wunderkindking's post about dog training is brilliant. I wish she'd do it as a standalone post, maybe in Getting Started; General Health, Fitness and Diet; or Motivation. If she did, and I saw it, I'd nominate it to be a stickie.)13 -
Me, I'm a big fan of "easy", so that it takes minimum willpower, determination, or discipline. Those are not my long suit, as a hedonistic old hippie type.
I lost 50+ pounds back in 2015-16, but had let my weight creep up ultra-slowly over about a 4-year period since, by around 10-15 pounds. When my jeans got tight, I decided to lose those vanity pounds by creeping weight down ultra-slowly, at about a pound a month rate. It was practically painless (but took a long time, obviously).
Even back in 2015, when losing weight at a pretty good clip, my thought process was about finding the easier route: Making eating changes that reduced things that mattered less to me (but had a higher calorie "cost"), trying new foods intentionally to identify things that were calorie-efficient/tasty/filling/practical, adopting activity increases (exercise or daily life) that were at minimum tolerable and ideally enjoyable, etc.
During loss, my general rule was that I wasn't going to do anything to lose weight that I wasn't willing to continue permanently, except for a moderate calorie deficit. Weight loss was a process of experimenting to find, and groove in, the habits for maintenance. (Though I did gain those few pounds, I think the general approach was a good one. I had been obese or near to it for about 30 years, up until 2015, and have been in a healthy weight range the whole time since, despite the 10-15 pound regain, and the tools I'd learned over those years made the slow re-loss extremely easy. I'm back in goal range now.)
Too often, it's tempting to adopt a new routine to "lose weight fast" that's fraught with giving up many things one enjoys, eating less-enjoyable so-called " diet foods" or "superfoods" instead, following some miserable/exhausting exercise regimen, and generally treating weight loss as a challenging project with an end date, after which things go back to normal.
For me, that doesn't end well. For me, weight management is a lifelong endeavor now, which puts a premium on figuring out how to do it via habits that are relatively easy, and surely sustainable.
(I, too, think @wunderkindking's post about dog training is brilliant. I wish she'd do it as a standalone post, maybe in Getting Started; General Health, Fitness and Diet; or Motivation. If she did, and I saw it, I'd nominate it to be a stickie.)
Gimme a little bit to get settled and I'll get it up somewhere (and thanks for the encouragement!)11 -
I also think the dog post is brilliant!
I have a few tricks for days when it all feels harder than usual. The other day it was singing a little song that went, “Jump out of bed and do it anyway, do it anyway, do it anyway… what else are you gonna do?” while getting ready for a morning run on not nearly enough sleep before an excruciating day of caretaking for my mom. Sometimes it’s pretending to myself that I am absolutely not going to work out, I am going back to bed, and then in the meantime laying my clothes out and lacing up my run shoes, and then whoops, here I am running, how did that happen? My brain is absolutely devious sometimes when it comes to sabotaging me, why not use its willingness to play tricks in my own favor?
The main thing for me, though, the one that overrides all discussions about motivation and so on, is that I stopped considering taking care of my health as optional. I don’t feel motivated to go to work most of the time, I don’t look forward to paying my rent or my taxes, yet somehow I manage to do those things because I don’t want to lose my house and go to jail. I don’t want to eat right and exercise most of the time either, but I do it because I don’t want to lose my life, and I know because I was very sick when I was diagnosed with diabetes that it’s a real possibility.
Don’t be me, I’m a dummy. I had to get a chronic disease before I took things seriously. The great thing about human beings is that we have language so we can learn from listening to each other without having to experience everything first hand. Your weight isn’t just about looking good in a bikini, it’s also about living your life. You may be a lot of pounds and years from a diabetes diagnosis, but everyone needs to exercise and eat right in order to do the things that make life great for as long as possible. It’s not optional so don’t worry about mindset or motivation, just get it done. Exercising and eating an appropriate number of calories work whether you are “feeling it” today or not.14 -
I don't recommend what keeps me motivated! I had lost about 50 lbs when I had a heart attack Feb. 2013. After that started regular workouts and started eating more of a plant based diet - lost another 30-35 lbs. Now whenever I'm tempted to say "oh well" I remember my why....to keep my heart healthy and never ever have another heart attack.15
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richardgavel wrote: »Ironically, Covid helped me get BACK on track. I'd hadn't been tracking for a long time and slowly creeping up. Being at home every day now, I decided I needed to go for a walk on a regular basis to avoid cabin fever and that little bit of exercise got my mindset slow back back into groove.
This is the same for me too. I hit my all time highest weigh-in weight in May 2020 (I may have weighed more at other times but I didn't step on the scale so I have no record). It was not horrendous - 88kg, which for me is borderline overweight/obese according to bmi, but it was way over my ideal weight which is around 75kg. I decided to exercise every day - walking, online workouts, rowing machine - and to track my food. A year later I was back at my goal weight, but still exercising, fitter than I have been for years adn with a sustainable exercise schedule. I am not currently logging, though I have gained back about 1 kg and plan to be logging - and eating at a deficit - again for a while in the autumn.
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It may sound silly, but reading the MFP forums for a few minutes also helps me stay on track mentally.19
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wunderkindking wrote: »I'm a professional dog trainer and a dog sports competitor -- stick with me, I have a point.
One of the big principals in dog training is basically about laying a strong foundation, and only increasing the difficulty when you have success 80+ percent of the time. Another one is that you make getting it right as obvious and easy as you possibly can - you set up in a way that makes it almost impossible for the dog to get it wrong.
In weight loss, I am the dog.
There is no mindset for me, really. I started with a very simple, easy, foundation behavior that I built upon. For me that was tracking my food before I ate it. No restriction, nothing else. Just inputting what I ate into MFP. Everything else there - getting enough protein, getting used to a ceiling on my calories (at maintenance first), creating a deficit - built upon the previous steps and habits, a lot of which are individual to me and my psychology.
the basics are still just 'lay a foundation of easy behaviors, increase difficulty slowly, add new things only when successful at the previous'.
everyone wants to results now - in weight loss and dogs, actually - but that 'slow is fast' saying is accurate. You can go slow and lay a really good foundation - or you can rush ahead to try to get the results you want right now, and spend the next several years or decades fixing problems that result from the holes in your foundation.
breathe. Relax. Look and think about what things you'd like to see your life look like and then take the smallest, easiest step toward that. Get that ingrained. Then add another one. Troubleshoot when you find things getting hard about how you can make success easier.
LAY A FOUNDATION before you start building.
This. I would just log my food without the intention of eating at a deficit. You will start seeing what you are eating and you will probably start making changes naturally. Good luck to you.0 -
This might sound odd, but I owe a lot of my stick-to-it-iveness to VEVO and YouTube fashionistas. Even though I am nowhere NEAR that universe, watching the perfect bodies in music videos and keeping track of the latest fashion trends keeps my head in the game.1
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Lynnsgoals2020 wrote: »It may sound silly, but reading the MFP forums for a few minutes also helps me stay on track mentally.
me too. for real.
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Logging my food is key. And walking. Those are two things that help put me in the right mindset. I’ve been maintaining for about a year now. I’m at the higher end of where I want to be so I want to drop a few myself.
Night time snacking is my downfall so I’m trying to eat dinner a little later and just have a warm beverage in the evening. I walk/run everyday (10,000 steps) and take a few classes a week. I try to keep moving to keep my metabolism up and to help burn additional calories I might be eating. It’s not always easy but every day is an opportunity to do better. You can do this!3 -
I got my master's degree and focused my studies on weight loss maintenance with the intent of learning how to maintain my own weight loss. Along the way, I learned a lot about mindset, including some interesting information on willpower from a book titled Willpower.
I put everything I learned in a complimentary workshop, but it's a lengthy one. I can share the details of the workshops, which I'm breaking down into bite-sized mini-workshops if you'd like. The next one will be this Saturday and be about 20-30 minutes.
In short, it's different for everyone, but there are questions you can ask yourself to help you get to your goals.-1 -
Take a front and side picture of yourself in your underwear. That motivated me. Oh.. and look at it every day. Kept me on track.4
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elisa123gal wrote: »Take a front and side picture of yourself in your underwear. That motivated me. Oh.. and look at it every day. Kept me on track.
Minimalist bathing suit or equivalent if you might want to share it on MFP someday as a before and after . . . a bet I routinely suggest people plan to make, just to keep future options open. (There's a "no undies" rule.)
ETA: I have one in short shorts and a pretty minimalist midriff-baring tie top, not this li'l ol' lady's usual fashion look. 😆3 -
I walk into my closet and look at all the clothes I bought now I lost the weight and say too myself "if I put on weight none of this will fit" and that is enough for me to continue this lifestyle.6
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thewhipple12955 wrote: »I walk into my closet and look at all the clothes I bought now I lost the weight and say too myself "if I put on weight none of this will fit" and that is enough for me to continue this lifestyle.
I got rid of everything that doesn’t fit so I can’t go back. That’s very motivating.
During the process, I hung a Goal Dress in my closet sideways. I had to reach under it to get to my “real” clothes. So every morning I was faced with this slim pencil dress and I got into the habit of talking to it and stroking it. A bit woo, but it worked for me.5 -
Yeah, my whole 'maintenance' motivation is 'if my pants don't fit, it's a problem'. I LIKE the clothes I have now and do not in any way want to buy yet another full wardrobe as I did 3 times over loss. Much easier just to watch it and adjust.1
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to get motivated, first you need to find what motivates you, everyone is different. Have many small goals, like stepping stones to help achieve bigger goals, When shopping HAVE a list and stick to that list, when at home, move any high sugar/fats foods, or donate them, and have a visual piece of clothing want to get back into, when the feeling of hunger approaches, drink water, because what we think is hunger is usually not, plan weekly meals that are tasty, filling and balanced, and find a hobby or activity that is fun to do, and creates a sense of achievement as well as physically moving - Motivation is simple if you find your "why", most important, followed by the "how", everything else is about focus and support.0
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My motivation was being diagnosed as diabetic. Not as bad as having a heart attack, but also not recommended. I wish I'd known I was even close - getting a full blown diagnosis was a huge shock and a wake up call that I needed to lose weight and take a closer look at what I was snacking on every day. I was going to the gym a lot and wasn't putting weight on, but I also wasn't losing anything.
I got my blood sugar numbers under control, purely via diet, and my motivation is to keep things that way. Tablets and injections don't appeal. I also had to buy a complete new wardrobe (and gave my old clothes to charity) so the financial aspect of buying more clothes is another motivation.1 -
Association for sure - be with the right people who can support and cheer you on!1
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jasontriwahyudi wrote: »Association for sure - be with the right people who can support and cheer you on!
Wow, that’s a tough one. There’s a network of people here who are inspiring and informative. But IRL workout buddies don’t stick around.
My walking and biking groups dissolved quickly. People at the gym are so focused on their own workouts, they don’t give a flying flip about mine. Pre-yoga chatter is pleasant, but it’s a very individual practice and the minute we’re instructed to “come to our mats” it’s all over.
The only person who has hung in long term has been my (paid) trainer, although she’s the whackadoodle type who would do it for free.
I’ve found some motivation here on Success Stories threads, but if you rely on other people, or wait for cheers, you’re just making an excuse and looking for an out for a quick quit. “I tried but I had no support”.
My experience, FWIW.8 -
My motivation is:
1 not huffing up one flight of stairs.
2 not looking like my beloved mother who was over weight since I can remember and not being told I have big bones like the other fat family members.
3 wanting to look good for myself and my hubby.
4 I plan to live a long happy retirement and being healthy is part of the aspect!
5 having a normal BMI
6 Wanting to go shopping for clothes2 -
So much rests on the mindset, doesn't it? That makes it such a good Q, OP. Mindset can be a challenge. Some people have long term struggles with their bodies (disease or injury or what have you), but for me the struggle is mostly mindset.
As a 30+ year maintainer, I say my weight is a constant battle -- a battle I am winning! -- but a battle nonetheless. And the battle is more with my mind than anything else. Yesterday I wanted to quit after my first ST set, played with excuses like my needing a rest because of a weird scapula pain that showed up Saturday, but just taking it one lift at a time I finished 3 sets and felt pretty good about it. Scapula felt the same.
I think a couple things help with mindset.
- Realize that mental energy is a limited resource and prioritize accordingly.
(I.e. don't try too many difficult things at once.)
- Make some things as easy mentally as possible.
(E.g. IMHO it helps to have a lifting routine that is challenging enough to hold my interest on good days but easy enough that I know I can get through it on days that aren't my best.)
- Don't blow all my mental energy on something unrealistic or too hard.
- Do things that build/reinforce discipline and healthy habits. That carries me when my head isn't totally in the game, like yesterday's ST. It was habit/discipline that kelp me going. I just tried to think about the one next lift and nothing else.
- Take a break (training rest week or diet maintenance week or just a break from tracking) when other things in life are a higher priority. Or for no reason. When I'm struggling with my mindset, sometimes a week off lets me come back to the routine with fresh energy.
The bottom line is maintenance takes some mental effort, but the effort it totally worth it.3
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