I need advice on how to be harder on myself!

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xdaysbingefree
xdaysbingefree Posts: 98 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know it's not realistic to eat and exercise perfectly all the time, so there's no need to be upset about the occasional slip-up, but I sometimes feel like I let myself get away with too much, and I'm not really sure where to draw the line.

Does anybody have any advice on how to be hard on yourself without going overboard?

Replies

  • wiscyproblems
    wiscyproblems Posts: 16
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    Wow I can totally relate! I always slip up and think "it's not a big deal, tomorrow I'll start being good for real now" or "I can just start again tomorrow".
  • arkansascountrygirl
    arkansascountrygirl Posts: 234 Member
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    I have the opposite problem I am to hard on myself and have to tell myself to take it easy . so maybe you ladies can help me be more laid back and not so hard on myself. to be honest it will take discipline you just have to push yourself to do it. that is really the only way.
  • heavensshadow
    heavensshadow Posts: 264 Member
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    Not really a "harder on yourself" tactic, but I have a picture plastered to my fridge right above the door handle -- "Yesterday you said tomorrow"

    It seems to help when I start losing focus on what I'm trying to do for myself.
  • StarIsMoving
    StarIsMoving Posts: 437
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    Set a general guideline for yourself maybe? For instance, how many days do you think it to be appropriate to mess up a bit on diet? How many rest days do you think should have in a month for exercise? Then start tracking them and stick to it. Something that helps me, is that I don't "schedule" them because things always seem to pop up. When they pop up, then I count it against my total. Like if I think 6 rest days a month is good....I get home from work to find out my daughter has a parent-teacher conference...there goes a rest day :)

    Hope that helps a bit for an idea
  • kealey1318
    kealey1318 Posts: 290 Member
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    Not really a "harder on yourself" tactic, but I have a picture plastered to my fridge right above the door handle -- "Yesterday you said tomorrow"

    It seems to help when I start losing focus on what I'm trying to do for myself.

    BRILLIANT IDEA!!!
  • nuckolsm
    nuckolsm Posts: 2
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    I'm thinking you need the opposite.

    You need to be less hard on yourself emotionally -- accepting yourself as an imperfect but beautiful person deserving of love -- so that you can focus on mindful eating -- that is thinking about each spoonful you are about to put into your mouth and whether you are satisfying hunger or another need. If it is another need, then what other things can you do that would satisfy that need? If you are eating because you are bored, can you go take a quick walk, drink a cup of herbal tea, dance with your kid, whatever. If you are eating because you are upset, is there something you can do to remedy that rather than medicating yourself with food? What good habit (running, exercising) can replace the urge to eat (a bad habit) - so that eventually when the urge strikes, you go for the good habit automatically instead of the bad one.

    Don't beat yourself up for not being perfect when you diet. If you make a food mistake -- don't get upset but accept that it occured, figure our WHY it occurred, and then try to find ways to keep it from occurring next time. Getting upset only breeds more emotion that fuels mindless emotional eating. Observe your actions like an uninterested party -- unemotionally -- and then make mindful decisions based on reason, just as if you were advising a friend. Learn to satisfy the emotional needs with something other than food. Whatever your food triggers are, learn to use these cues to do something healthy instead -- running, painting, talking to a friend, whatever.

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