Mental Block
ddsb1111
Posts: 869 Member
I just responded to someone else’s thread about weighing and measuring to take the guesswork out of logging. I know this is solid advice, but for many months I haven’t been taking it. Has anyone else had these mental blocks preventing them from doing something they know works? Why does this happen? What did you do to shake it? It genuinely feels like my mind is pushing back and I can’t figure out how to override it. Thanks for any and all advice or personal experiences you may have.
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Replies
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It's not necessary to weigh food . . . unless it is.
Yes, it can be more accurate. But if you're achieving your goals in a way that satisfies you without weighing food, it's not essential to do it.
I'm a dedicated food weigh-er, and that's still what I think.
If someone shows up here and posts one of the frequent "not losing weight as expected" threads, and they aren't weighing food, I'll tell them to weigh food. So many of us have had forehead-slapping moments when we realized that our eyeballing or cups/spoons measurements were far off enough to hinder progress. Having those people weigh food lets them either discover those kinds of errors, or rule out that that's the issue. It provides useful, actionable information in that scenario.
Even when I suggest it to people, I'm sometimes (i.e., if I think of it) suggesting they do it for a month or two (especially if they say they hate doing it) just to get a handle on potential sources of logging error.
Over time, one's eyeballing/estimating tends to get more reliable, based on experience with weighing.
Personally, even though I could probably skip the food scale a lot of the time now, I keep doing it because I find it's literally easier and quicker than cups/spoons once a person knows the tricks. It's almost as quick as eyeballing, and for me it takes less mental bandwidth than eyeballing - it's more an autopilot action rather than requiring any thought from me.
If you're getting the results you want, consistently enough, and don't want to weigh your food . . . don't weigh your food. If things get less predictable down the road, you can start then . . . or use other tactics to adjust. It's not some kind of religious ritual everyone absolutely needs to do in order to belong to the club or something.12 -
Food weighing doesn't have to permanent if for the most part you eat a lot of the same things consistently. As mentioned if you're getting results without weighing then it isn't necessary.0
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I should have been more clear, apologies. No I’m not getting results and it’s because I’m eyeballing too much. My advice for others would be, might wanna weigh for a bit to get a handle on it. BUT, I’m not taking that same advice because of some mental block. I don’t know why it’s there or what to do. So, I came here hoping there was some strategies or explanations others have found for the same problem.3
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When you're tired enough of not getting results you'll weigh.I should have been more clear, apologies. No I’m not getting results and it’s because I’m eyeballing too much. My advice for others would be, might wanna weigh for a bit to get a handle on it. BUT, I’m not taking that same advice because of some mental block. I don’t know why it’s there or what to do. So, I came here hoping there was some strategies or explanations others have found for the same problem.
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What Tom said, basically. It's about creating the routine that you just do it. It's like the 4 year Olds in my class who buck the system. Sure, they can buck the system, but I have a routine set in place, and if they choose to buck the system, that's their prerogative and they're going to miss out on the fun thing we do next, because they chose to buck the system. Well, your thing you miss out on is losing the weight you want to lose.4
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So, can you apply some introspection, be more specific about why you don't want to do it? Does it seem like it could be obsessive for you? Does it seem time-consuming? Are you worried about what other people might think if they see you doing it? Or . . . ?
Maybe you already know these things, but if you want to be doing it, I'd suggest you lean into the things that make weighing easier than cups/spoons, and maybe cognitively easier than eyeballing. Such as:- Assembling a salad in a bowl, a stew in a pan, sandwich on a plate? Put the bowl/pan/plate on the scale, zero, add an ingredient, note the weight, zero, add the next ingredient, note the weight . . . .
- Using something from a carton or jar, or cutting a slice from a hunk of cheese? Put the container or chunk on the scale, zero, take out portion, note the negative value (it's the amount you took out).
- Eating a whole apple, banana, un-hulled strawberries, corn on the cob? Weigh the ready-to-eat food, eat the yummy parts, weigh the core/hulls/peel, subtract & note.
- I like to keep a few clean plastic yogurt-tub lids around to weigh small items, like a handful of nuts or chopped hardboiled eggs or something. Drop the lid on the scale, zero, add item, note weight, eat or use - just a quick rinse of the lid under the faucet & you're done.
- I also use an old junk-mail envelope to scribble the items while I’m cooking to spare spills on my electronic device, and record the results after.
Again, think about just doing it for a while, as a sort of fun science experiment for grown-ups. If it's time-limited and you get insights, great. But you might find the habit more congenial than you anticipate. Won't know, unless you try.
Do you have a scale? They're inexpensive. They're also handy if you're a USA-ian and may want to use international recipes, since those are often written with weights rather than volume measures, especially for baked items.
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@sollyn23l2 Your example is funny and true. I feel like I have this defiant child voice in the back of my mind saying- no! I don’t want to! And the adult voice is saying, well then you don’t get nice things. Why the heck do we do this 😩
@AnnPT77 Thanks for basically walking me through your routine. It makes me remember it’s really not a big deal and I’m making it more difficult than it needs to be. I need to get out of my own way. Just now bought a scale on Amazon because I’m not even sure where mine is anymore. Actions first and hopefully my mind will follow 🤞🏻
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@sollyn23l2 Your example is funny and true. I feel like I have this defiant child voice in the back of my mind saying- no! I don’t want to! And the adult voice is saying, well then you don’t get nice things. Why the heck do we do this 😩
@AnnPT77 Thanks for basically walking me through your routine. It makes me remember it’s really not a big deal and I’m making it more difficult than it needs to be. I need to get out of my own way. Just now bought a scale on Amazon because I’m not even sure where mine is anymore. Actions first and hopefully my mind will follow 🤞🏻
Let us know how it goes, after a bit, if you feel up to it - reactions, roadblocks if any, etc.?
Best wishes that it'll turn out to be less daunting than you may imagine!5 -
@sollyn23l2 Your example is funny and true. I feel like I have this defiant child voice in the back of my mind saying- no! I don’t want to! And the adult voice is saying, well then you don’t get nice things. Why the heck do we do this 😩
@AnnPT77 Thanks for basically walking me through your routine. It makes me remember it’s really not a big deal and I’m making it more difficult than it needs to be. I need to get out of my own way. Just now bought a scale on Amazon because I’m not even sure where mine is anymore. Actions first and hopefully my mind will follow 🤞🏻
I maintain we're all just 4 year olds in adult bodies. Me included. Don't think I don't do the same thing🤣 I do.6 -
I should have been more clear, apologies. No I’m not getting results and it’s because I’m eyeballing too much. My advice for others would be, might wanna weigh for a bit to get a handle on it. BUT, I’m not taking that same advice because of some mental block. I don’t know why it’s there or what to do. So, I came here hoping there was some strategies or explanations others have found for the same problem.
We humans are rarely simple. If we could always understand and overcome our mental blocks life would probably be easier. But with so many potential reasons why we have these blocks, the answers are usually not so easy.
Sometimes it's as simple as being lazy and resisting change. And somehow expecting different results when we keep doing the same things. At the end of the day, we have those choices, but the results often only come with changes.
Keep it simple and do you with whatever changes you choose to make, and decide if easy or results are more important. Until we are accountable to ourselves, we are making choices and failing to execute on them.2 -
robertw486 wrote: »I should have been more clear, apologies. No I’m not getting results and it’s because I’m eyeballing too much. My advice for others would be, might wanna weigh for a bit to get a handle on it. BUT, I’m not taking that same advice because of some mental block. I don’t know why it’s there or what to do. So, I came here hoping there was some strategies or explanations others have found for the same problem.
We humans are rarely simple. If we could always understand and overcome our mental blocks life would probably be easier. But with so many potential reasons why we have these blocks, the answers are usually not so easy.
Sometimes it's as simple as being lazy and resisting change. And somehow expecting different results when we keep doing the same things. At the end of the day, we have those choices, but the results often only come with changes.
Keep it simple and do you with whatever changes you choose to make, and decide if easy or results are more important. Until we are accountable to ourselves, we are making choices and failing to execute on them.
So true. I got this far doing just that and now my mind wants to throw road blocks up when I’m only 10lbs away. You’d think my diet break would have reinvigorated me but it’s done the opposite. But the vacation is over, time to get back to work.1 -
I know what you mean about mental blocks. That's been the hardest part of the journey for me. One trick I've used is to start with just a little bit of the thing I'm resisting. Like, force yourself to weigh ONE meal a day. Or make yourself weigh ONE food you eat regularly for a week. Baby steps like this help me balance between my selfdiscipline and my pouty inner child. Every bit of progress helps, and you can work up to weighing more stuff.
Another thing I've done is make a game of things. Like, guess what your portion weighs, then check to ser if you guessed right. Do that until you "win" the game consistently. Make it silly. Dance a jig if you win, do a few squats if you lose. Take the seriousness out of it in whatever way appeals to your sense of humor.
On the more introspective side, journaling about it can help. Maybe write a convetsation between your rational self and your resistant self. You might be surprised by what comes out. Or try some srntence starters....1.) People who weigh their food are....or 2.) Weighing your food is....(make a fast list of as many words as come mind whether they make sense or not)...3.) If so-and-so saw me weighing me food, they'd say/think...
I never minded weighing food, but these are some techniques I've used to deal with blocks. I hope one of them will help you. Losing weight is such an identity shift. It's amazing how many odd quirks it can expose. There's also the possibility that the food scale block is just a symptom that part of you is nervous about continuing to lose.
Whatever it is, I wish you well. You're obviously committed to the process, so I know you'll get thete.7 -
One thing I do to overcome mental blocks and to stay motivated is create and read flash cards. I’ve created them for a lot of mental traps when it comes to dieting. How to cope with cravings, my why’s etc. You could create one with the reasons why you want to weigh your food and how you will cope if you feel you are resisting it. Then read it every day (set a timer in your phone).
Just my two cents…3 -
BrightEyedAgain wrote: »I know what you mean about mental blocks. That's been the hardest part of the journey for me. One trick I've used is to start with just a little bit of the thing I'm resisting. Like, force yourself to weigh ONE meal a day. Or make yourself weigh ONE food you eat regularly for a week. Baby steps like this help me balance between my selfdiscipline and my pouty inner child. Every bit of progress helps, and you can work up to weighing more stuff.
Another thing I've done is make a game of things. Like, guess what your portion weighs, then check to ser if you guessed right. Do that until you "win" the game consistently. Make it silly. Dance a jig if you win, do a few squats if you lose. Take the seriousness out of it in whatever way appeals to your sense of humor.
On the more introspective side, journaling about it can help. Maybe write a convetsation between your rational self and your resistant self. You might be surprised by what comes out. Or try some srntence starters....1.) People who weigh their food are....or 2.) Weighing your food is....(make a fast list of as many words as come mind whether they make sense or not)...3.) If so-and-so saw me weighing me food, they'd say/think...
I never minded weighing food, but these are some techniques I've used to deal with blocks. I hope one of them will help you. Losing weight is such an identity shift. It's amazing how many odd quirks it can expose. There's also the possibility that the food scale block is just a symptom that part of you is nervous about continuing to lose.
Whatever it is, I wish you well. You're obviously committed to the process, so I know you'll get thete.
Thank you so much. This is not only helpful in practice but I also feel heard.
I don’t know why I’ve been so resistant to change lately, so it’s been kind of a conundrum and out of character. Making small changes feels less like change right now. And I can definitely see myself making it a game and doing the “I guessed right” dance. As for journaling, hmmm, I feel that knee jerk reaction so maybe there’s something there? Who knows, maybe I’m just too comfortable. I like how you simplified it by asking question starters. I hope a lot of people who are self sabotaging read your response, I think it could really help.
I’ll get over this hurdle, I know I will, but it’s responses like yours and others that make it less agonizing haha. And I’m sure I’ll fall back on some of these habits again.
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Antiopelle wrote: »One thing I do to overcome mental blocks and to stay motivated is create and read flash cards. I’ve created them for a lot of mental traps when it comes to dieting. How to cope with cravings, my why’s etc. You could create one with the reasons why you want to weigh your food and how you will cope if you feel you are resisting it. Then read it every day (set a timer in your phone).
Just my two cents…
This is really interesting! I’m making some for my little brother (Big Brothers Big Sisters program) so I’ll just add some for myself as well. I need to strengthen my why and I think this will target that.2 -
Weighing and measuring (especially at the beginning) is important. It's important for people to be able to be honest about how much they are eating (and even figure it out to begin with). Did you really only have 3/4 of a cup of cereal?? Maybe you had 3 times that much, measure it and log it.
However, when I started, I *knew* I didn't want my mental load to always be about weighing and measuring...and stressing if I couldn't do that (potluck, BBQ, restaurant...etc.). I don't want to be pulling out a measuring cup or scale every time I'm eating. I don't want to be consumed by thinking about calories either.
So, throughout the process...it's important to pay attention to what you are weighing and measuring in order to get to a point where you are able to 'guess'/'estimate' and it's better than your 'guessing/estimating' before. It's also important to learn to pay attention to your body through this process so you can move toward more intuitive eating - knowing and trusting your actual hunger cues.
I am not perfect with my calorie intake for sure now since I'm not really logging much, spotty at best. But, I know what hungry feels like for me and I know what I need based on my activity level now much more accurately than I did before this process.2 -
This…resonates. I feel the exact same way sometimes!! Ok, often!!
The last few months have been that way for sure…I know what to do and how to do it, but my brain says “no” like a rebellious toddler sometimes.
I have no good advice, but I’m sending supportive thoughts your way! Be kind to yourself, value progress over perfection.2 -
Oh boy, do I relate to this feeling! I had a period of over 3 years I was doing everything right and lost weight slowly and consistently. Then it was like a switch flipped off in my head and for the last couple years, I have had a similar mental block and no matter how much I wanted to stop it, and no matter how many times I tried to get on track again, I just couldn't seem to force myself to follow through for very long. A few weeks ago, it was like the switch flipped back and doing all the work (planning, cooking, tracking, measuring) suddenly seems easy again. It's absolutely maddening. Although I can see some triggers that probably started the backslide, I absolutely cannot identify anything that made that switch flip back on now.I just responded to someone else’s thread about weighing and measuring to take the guesswork out of logging. I know this is solid advice, but for many months I haven’t been taking it. Has anyone else had these mental blocks preventing them from doing something they know works? Why does this happen? What did you do to shake it? It genuinely feels like my mind is pushing back and I can’t figure out how to override it. Thanks for any and all advice or personal experiences you may have.
I love the ideas from @BrightEyedAgain and @Antiopelle. I'm going to write those down!
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I think there are all kinds of mental games people play that contribute to weight gain in the first place and weeding out those thought patterns and habits is at least half the battle in weight loss. I have the same issue you describe and it’s interesting that you raise it because I’ve been paying attention to my own thoughts recently. Somehow it’s almost as if giving people the right advice on how to do it, is as good as actually doing it. Just one of those sneaky little lies I tell myself without realizing. Unfortunately the results seem to be lacking!1
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Antiopelle wrote: »One thing I do to overcome mental blocks and to stay motivated is create and read flash cards. I’ve created them for a lot of mental traps when it comes to dieting. How to cope with cravings, my why’s etc. You could create one with the reasons why you want to weigh your food and how you will cope if you feel you are resisting it. Then read it every day (set a timer in your phone).
Just my two cents…
This is really interesting! I’m making some for my little brother (Big Brothers Big Sisters program) so I’ll just add some for myself as well. I need to strengthen my why and I think this will target that.
I hope you find it helpful. I'm using an app meant to help students called Anki. It reminds me to read my flashcards every day. The first inkling that my thoughts are going off diet again is when I tend to skip the reminder. After almost a year, this is my first alarm that my mindset is changing.
Not just the flashcards themselves, but being a bit annoyed at the reminder ("I don't have the time now" "I know them by heart anyway" "what good will it do" ...) is my red flag and a sign that my healthy eating habits are at risk.
I am sure that this isn't for everyone, certainly not someone with and ED or who is over-obsessing with food, but it sure works for me.3 -
@JLG1986 Thanks for the supportive thoughts! It’s weird how we can want something so bad and simultaneously prevent it from happening.
@bobsburgersfan I’m sorry you relate to this, and the way you describe it is so accurate. That’s exactly what it’s been like, a switch one day, months or sometimes years go by, then it switches again. Mine started sometime last November and it’s now May! I wasn’t losing but at least I wasn’t gaining. Then in Jan/Feb I started to gain and knew I couldn’t let this go on or I’ll undo all the work I’ve done. Fortunately just confronting it on here and getting some really spectacular advice has helped. Got a new scale yesterday and I’m actually interested in using it.2 -
I think there are all kinds of mental games people play that contribute to weight gain in the first place and weeding out those thought patterns and habits is at least half the battle in weight loss. I have the same issue you describe and it’s interesting that you raise it because I’ve been paying attention to my own thoughts recently. Somehow it’s almost as if giving people the right advice on how to do it, is as good as actually doing it. Just one of those sneaky little lies I tell myself without realizing. Unfortunately the results seem to be lacking!
So true. Couldn’t have said it better. Just being able to talk about it and not feel totally alone (and like I’m failing) is encouraging.1 -
Antiopelle wrote: »Antiopelle wrote: »One thing I do to overcome mental blocks and to stay motivated is create and read flash cards. I’ve created them for a lot of mental traps when it comes to dieting. How to cope with cravings, my why’s etc. You could create one with the reasons why you want to weigh your food and how you will cope if you feel you are resisting it. Then read it every day (set a timer in your phone).
Just my two cents…
This is really interesting! I’m making some for my little brother (Big Brothers Big Sisters program) so I’ll just add some for myself as well. I need to strengthen my why and I think this will target that.
I hope you find it helpful. I'm using an app meant to help students called Anki. It reminds me to read my flashcards every day. The first inkling that my thoughts are going off diet again is when I tend to skip the reminder. After almost a year, this is my first alarm that my mindset is changing.
Not just the flashcards themselves, but being a bit annoyed at the reminder ("I don't have the time now" "I know them by heart anyway" "what good will it do" ...) is my red flag and a sign that my healthy eating habits are at risk.
I am sure that this isn't for everyone, certainly not someone with and ED or who is over-obsessing with food, but it sure works for me.
Awesome, I just downloaded the app. I told my husband about it and he downloaded it too so he can practice Italian, so thanks for the pro tip! I tell myself all those excuses as well, but once I see results then I start to love the process and routine. Just wish I wasn’t so defiant on the way there.
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Definitely understand this feeling! Everyone is different so finding what works for you is important in overcoming this I think. For me, I am hugely successful when I'm strict with what I eat and am meticulous with not letting ANYTHING past my lips without it having touched the scales. In terms of 'what I eat' - technically yes, I could accept the biscuit being offered, add the calories and still ensure I'm within my limit, but for me I can remain more committed overall if I say no to food that won't 'benefit' me. If I give in to temptation I know mentally ill be more likely to cave at some point in the future.
I had a blip recently which ruined my willpower - my sister had a birthday party, and I mentally prepared for 'okay, one day of not weighing food and eating and drinking freely isn't gonna destroy my life' - so I did and it was fun. However I stayed over, and in the morning my sister encouraged macdonals breakfast to cure the hangover... I gave in. Then lunchtime came and she was ordering KFC, I said no then changed my mind (only getting 1 piece of chicken, compared to 'old me' bur still!) THEN... dinner time - they're ordering Dominos, same scenario I say no, then FOMO has me getting a small personal pizza. (Love my sister, but a huge part of me becoming the size I am/was is through a period of living with her where this became normality for me, and was a bad habit my glutinous side continued even after moving out.)
Anywho, this blip resulted in a mental block for about a week after. Even though Monday came, and I was like - alright, you've had your treat, smash it! I'd be weighing everything, but then be like 'oh I'll just eat this bit of cheese ad-hoc, what's the harm?' - pointless behaviour that won't help me or my goals. I eventually snapped out of it, though it's been hard.
Long post sorry haha! Just wanted to share what behaviour causes vs controls My own mental block around this stuff.
(Ps I'm visiting her tonight so wish me luck
- I'm taking my own food, but last time I went she opted to order a kebab, so I'm still gonna need prayers sent my way to stay strong haha!) 6 -
@laurenthecarts It’s impressive you got back on track after a week, well done! Not always easy to do but you did it.
That is a tricky situation. You love your sister and want to spend time with her but she enables behaviors that are counterproductive to your goals. I feel for you. Good luck sticking with your own food, you’ve got this. I think it’s a brilliant idea to prepare for success so you won’t need luck. Let me know how it went.1 -
@ddsb1111 I'm glad you felt heard. That's really important. I love the way @vanmep put it about the mental stuff being at least half the battle. I hope some of the advice you've found here will help. That's what's so awesome about the MFP Community! I've learned so much reading threads. Good for you for posting your issue!1
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It’s been a week- quick update. I got my food scale and it took me a day but I opened it. I’ve been using it intermittently, but I guess that’s better than not at all. I’m trying to shift my mind over to- see this isn’t so bad! When I’m using it, it’s in no way complicated or annoying. And Ann’s right, it makes sense to notate it and move on. I just made a sandwich and as y’all know it has multiple components so weighing would typically feel like a burden but I enjoyed it. It’s taken an entire week to get here but I’m hopeful I’ll be in my flow state in another week or two
I still have mental pushback (for sure!) but the more I use it the less of a burden it feels. I’m just so tired of my excuses and I really want to take control over this aspect of my life. The first step was confronting the issue, I truly believe that.
For anyone else feeling stuck or stubborn about using the scale, I get it and I hope this is a reminder that we need to make changes to see changes, even if it takes longer.
I hope you all have a great weekend4 -
UPDATE: 5 weeks exactly 😊
After getting the support, pep talks, and a little tough love like I needed I’m mentally and physically on track. Down 7.2lbs (mind you the first drop was water), and I got out of my own damn way (wow it let me say damn).
Benefits: mental focus, energy, positive attitude, motivated to work on my projects, I feel lighter, less headaches, better sleep, and no phantom hunger or cravings.
If it’s gonna be hard either way, it might as well be hard in the right direction. 59% there.
Thanks everyone9 -
UPDATE: 5 weeks exactly 😊
After getting the support, pep talks, and a little tough love like I needed I’m mentally and physically on track. Down 7.2lbs (mind you the first drop was water), and I got out of my own damn way (wow it let me say damn).
Benefits: mental focus, energy, positive attitude, motivated to work on my projects, I feel lighter, less headaches, better sleep, and no phantom hunger or cravings.
If it’s gonna be hard either way, it might as well be hard in the right direction. 59% there.
Thanks everyone
Good show: This is one of the best things I've read here all day. I'm sincerely very happy for you.
Keep up the goodness, nothing better than seeing someone accomplish their goals!:flowerforyou: 2 -
UPDATE: 5 weeks exactly 😊
After getting the support, pep talks, and a little tough love like I needed I’m mentally and physically on track. Down 7.2lbs (mind you the first drop was water), and I got out of my own damn way (wow it let me say damn).
Benefits: mental focus, energy, positive attitude, motivated to work on my projects, I feel lighter, less headaches, better sleep, and no phantom hunger or cravings.
If it’s gonna be hard either way, it might as well be hard in the right direction. 59% there.
Thanks everyone
Good show: This is one of the best things I've read here all day. I'm sincerely very happy for you.
Keep up the goodness, nothing better than seeing someone accomplish their goals!:flowerforyou:
TY ☺️. It was a 7 month backslide so I’m relieved I reached out and applied the advice. The momentum is more exhilarating with each passing week.2
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