Punishment?

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irishdancer23
irishdancer23 Posts: 172 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I have been in need of serious motivation the past few weeks after falling off the wagon in a HUGE way. I have tried reward after reward, and nothing seems to work....maybe its because I can't even eat healthy things for 1 DARN DAY!!! ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!! most people advocate rewards for weight loss and healthy eating choices as opposed to punishment, but obviously rewards aren't doing it for me....so i'm wondering-does anyone punish themselves when they have a bad day? i know you're not supposed to do that ("tomorrow is a new day!") but i feel like that mental attitude isn't working for me anymore. :(

Replies

  • jnrgreene
    jnrgreene Posts: 11 Member
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    I struggle big time every day with eating good food. I always beat myself up whenever I slip up, but it doesn't seem to stop me next time I am tempted with bad food. I really think I must have a food addiction. All I can say is I try to take it one meal at a time. I did really well today untill after my daughters volleyball game, and then we went to sonic and I got moz cheese sticks!!!! I think it may help you to find someone to be accountable to. I wish I had someone who would be willing to tell me no when I am tempted! Keep trying and never give up. ;)
  • mbastian
    mbastian Posts: 16
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    I don't punish myself, but I would think that, if I had a way to hold myself accountable for the punishment (and it was beneficial), it might help. For example, if you have a bad dinner, punish yourself with taking a 2 mile walk or something like that that you don't particularly like to do. I certainly don't think beating yourself up will help, but a punishment that actually helps you, but you dread doing just might be the ticket.

    Good luck!
    Michelle
  • Tiffanydepiano
    Tiffanydepiano Posts: 169 Member
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    I like that.
    Punishment is extra exercise. Good idea.
    I really dislike working out. Good punishment.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    The only reward for me is fitting in my clothes and shopping in normal sized stores --- and being able to steal clothes from my skinny sisters....

    I do not punish myself -- ever.

    I found an exercise I actually love so much I plan my entire week around it -- find one you love and living healthier is much easier.

    Actually -- I guess I do punish myself everytime I eat too many carbs (cupcakes, bagels, donuts) and I end up feeling sick and bloated and tired all day. Usually it's just not worht it but I still do it once in awhile. When I was fat, those were my comfort and sometimes I just miss it. Now I know why I was a such a lazy tired lump back then :)
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    i dont do rewards..they usually end up sabatoging us.

    what i do..is just allot treats into my daily calories anyways..that way i dont feel like i'm depriving myself..i can still eat a chocolate chip cookie if i want..or two or three..
  • vzucco
    vzucco Posts: 229
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    Maybe punishment isn't the best word, but consequences or compensations. Like, you compensate for a bad food day with exercise. Don't get carried away though. Building up discipline takes time, try to get through one day and the next will be easier. I tend to lose more weight when I'm not driving myself crazy.
  • Esmo23
    Esmo23 Posts: 32
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    I like exercise as punishment too! Last night I had a Personal Training session and was not pleased with my effort, so this morning I made myself get up at 6am and go to the gym before work. That was my punishment for not having a better session in the first place! But in the end, it's all rewarding, really :)
    Keep trying, don't give up! You'll get there!
    Add me as a friend if you're interested :)
  • Samiwhereareyou
    Samiwhereareyou Posts: 281 Member
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    me and my friend decided to lose weight together and over 4 months we were going to lose 20lbs. if we did not lose 5lbs the first month we had to take a shot of toilet bowl water if we did not lose 10 lbs the second month we had to wear a really un flattering outfit skinny jeans and a midriff showing shirt to karaoke and sing a love song. If we did not lose 15lbs the 3rd week for the whole day we had to walk around town wearing pig nose while the other friend made piggy sounds at us and at the end if we did not lose the 20lbs the other friend would shave our head. There was slack because we were best friends and neighbors so we knew when they were trying really hard and not showing results. It worked for me. She ended up gaining the weight back.
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
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    Take smaller steps. Maybe you're not ready to measure in days yet. Start with something tiny, like eliminating sodas. Then add to the soda elimination and eliminate all fast food. Even if you screw up everything else, at least meet some small goal. THEN you can get up to days and weeks and months. The same goes for exercising. Force yourself to do the bare minimum every day. 20 minutes fast-as-you-can walk. Then bump it up to 25, 30, etc. Then factor in a minute long jog to your walk. Keep adding minutes.

    Not everyone has willpower, but you're not going to get any by sitting around and hating yourself.

    Another thing that helped me - learning to cook really tasty foods. Cookinglight.com and Skinnytaste.com are some great starts. I actually prefer my own cooking to anyone else's. I don't even like to go out to eat anymore. oh, and don't keep things you know you shouldn't have in your house. No matter how much weight I've lost, I am still too lazy to get up and go buy it when I have a craving.
  • firewatergoddess
    firewatergoddess Posts: 16
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    Don't look at dietary slips as abad or good thing. Just keep everything in moderation. If you deprive yourself all the time from those treat items you love, when you fall off the wagon you will fall hard and gain back twice the weight................trust me I know. I did a lifestyle change over a year ago and was doing really well and wanted to get back into my competative swimming.......( because man do I hate running). But when a spot open up on the team I am with now I wanted to quite smoking too. Well long story short I took on more then I could handle in a lifestyle change, so the diet part of the change went out the window. Well I did not gain twice what I had lost but I ended all the way back to the start. But when I was eating well I never deprived myself of my treat, if I wanted something salty I had it and if I wanted something sweet I had that too, I just tried to make them healthy choices or small servings of the really bad ones I wanted. If I could not keep the portion small, I just worked harder the next day so I could burn more calories. This time around I find really elimanting the pop has helped a ton...........all of it no diet whatever or zero/max, I am using mineral water and man it is working with the cravings. Good luck and don't beat yourself up, just get EVEN!
  • ludgerclay
    ludgerclay Posts: 95 Member
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    I can't imagine anything good coming from punishing yourself. Consider a lack of weight loss as punishment. Consider poor physical fitness as punishment. Consider low energy level, or being winded climbing stairs as punishment. An attitude of looking forward toward a goal has built the pyramids and send men to the moon. An attitude of avoiding punishment lead to cheating and cutting corners and ultimately mediocre results. Your already know this: Establish a real goal, not just "I want to eat less" or "I want to eat healthy", but a specific condition (number of pounds lost, 7 minute mile, size 4 dress). Than seriously spend some time thinking about what that will feel like, how you'll look, who you can tell about your success, and convince yourself that that feeling is much much more satisfying than that fudge brownie or second slice of pizza. I just think that punishment will engender a negative attitude that will just result in something bad.

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