20% diet and 80% mental?

Shenanagins85 · July 2012

What helped you get threw the mental part? I'm starting to struggle and getting discourage. What was your break threw moment?

bathsheba_c · July 2012

For me, a big part of the getting through the mental part is simply knowing myself and applying it to how I'm eating. A huge part of this whole process is individual.

For example, if I have one day a week I can eat junk food, it makes it easier for me to not eat junk the rest of the week, which actually makes me eat less of it on my cheat day. Others on the site, though, can't eat a single piece of junk food or they get completely thrown off.

If you are getting discouraged, try remembering why you are doing this. Maybe make a list. For example, if you come from a family of overweight diabetics, and you feel like giving up, remember that you are trying to avoid all the health problems they have.

vingogly · July 2012

For understanding the behavioral part, "Intuitive Eating", by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch was a huge help to me. Here's their website:

http://www.intuitiveeating.org/

The Center for Mindful Eating also has some good handouts:

http://www.tcme.org/library.htm

ZugTheMegasaurus · July 2012

For me, I did what I call "taking myself out of the equation." I realized that feeling bad or guilty or stressed about it doesn't help anything. I realized that my feelings have absolutely nothing to do with losing weight at all. It's just a matter of cause and effect. If I do certain behaviors, I lose weight. If I do others, I gain weight. That's it. There is no "good" and no "bad" and there is nothing that reflects upon me as a person. If I eat a whole cake, that doesn't make me a bad person in any way or make me guilty of anything. It just means that I'm probably not going to lose a lot of weight in the very near future.

My body doesn't know that I want to lose a certain number of pounds or to fit into a smaller size or how fast it should happen. It responds only to the tangible, physical cues I offer it. All I have to do is figure out which ones get me where I want to go. It's that simple. No stress, no judgment. Just cause and effect.

seekingstrengthX2 · July 2012

Hiring a personal trainer is what did it for me. They kicked my butt and showed me what I was capable of. I had no idea. It changed everything!

camiah · July 2012

Antidepressants.

Also, the personal trainer who made me realize that I can do so much more than I thought I could, as far as working out was concerned.

mwilke · July 2012

I have been at this for about 2 years now... part of it not so serious, I have been pretty serious about it for a year. A lot of times it's still a struggle. But I set mini goals to reach the ultimate goal, and I celebrate every victory. Mostly my celebrating is just sharing that I have made an accomplishment, but that is something that I have never really done. I have never really taken the time to be proud of myself and share those kinds of things because I felt like I wasn't important enough. There is also a lot of positive self talk involved to get past the struggling part. Don't forget why you started this journey and where you started. Remembering where you started is huge because you can look back at the accomplishments you have made and see exactly where you have improved. Some people have taken photos, which I couldn't bring myself to do. Most of all though, you have to WANT this. If you want it bad enough, you will push through the struggles.

Good luck! You can do this!

BOLO4Hagtha · July 2012

I know this going to sound very shallow, but my brother and I plan on going to Comic Con in SD for his 21st bday, and we want to dress up. I found this awesome Star Trek costume that I want to wear and have it saved on my desktop, so every time I feel like eating "bad food" I look at it and remember that I should eat healthy stuff. I know that losing weight is 80% diet and 20% working out, and if I stick to that diet at least 70% of the time, well I'm that much closer to getting into that costume.

I've been trying to lose weight for a very long time time, and I always seem to give up halfway through and gain some of the weight back, and I realized it was because I had nothing motivating me. I guess in the back of my mind I knew that if I lose weight I will be healthier and be able to do things like go hiking, running, etc. without feeling like I'm about to die. But coming from a family that eats a lot (and this is the part that makes me angry - my entire family is skinny! I wasn't so lucky), I felt like, "well they are all eating more than I am, and they aren't fat, so its ok if I eat a little more." I guess having something to look forward to makes me make better choices in terms for food and portions even when it becomes so hard to resist.

Sorry this ended up being so long, lol.

Linbo93 · July 2012

If you have iTunes, check out the podcast, "Fat 2 Fit Radio." They're all free to download from season 2 on. This podcast revolutionized how I think about diet, lifestyle and exercise. I follow their philosophy and, almost 7 months in I cannot see myself ever not living the rest of my life this way. I have all the motivation I need! Seriously...listen if you can!

To keep the "I'm so excited about this" motivation up and running on a daily basis, I find that if I make sure I always have short term goals that I am excited about, I stay motivated. If I get bored of the goals, I find another one that excites me. I've noticed in all my past attempts that the second I lost sight of my short term goals, or once they lost their luster, I stopped trying and fell off the 'wagon'. Now, I'm setting up goals constantly, and making sure they are attainable and in line with my long term goal of being a healthy weight and active person. In addition, because I kept the goals smaller, I can look back and see a lot of goals I have set for myself and reached! It feels amazing!

The key here, and I cannot stress this enough, is to make sure that whatever goal you set up, you are personally excited about it. Right now, I just signed up for a kickboxing class that starts next week. I am SO EXCITED about it cause it's pretty intense and it will help me build muscle! Before that, it was running, and seeing if I could beat my time for running a mile. But if they ever lose their excitement, I will immediatly begin searching for something else that gets my blood flowing!

Good luck!! :OD

AmyFett · July 2012

Well, this time, is for real because I'm mentally there. I am not weighing myself constantly. I'll do it once a week and that's IT. I can't let it get me discouraged. But soon I'll be moving somewhere where it's warm all the time, or near all the time, and I can't be wearing what I wear now to cover up my grossness. I keep seeing myself in a bathing suit and happy, not ashamed of my body. I have 8 months until the move, I want to take off 50 lbs, though I'm not sure I'll be able to, but that's my goal for now. If I'm lucky, I might do 20 at the most by then, but I'm seriously kicking my *kitten* hard to do this. Mentally, you just have to WANT it!

mommab23k · July 2012

I was over 100 plus pounds overweight. My breaking point was when I was at the OB/GYN's office, seeing a Dr I had never seen before. She had me in stirrups, up in the air with her head in my you know what and she asked me, "So, have you been obese your entire life?" SERIOUSLY!!! Yep, I know TMI, but honestly that is what did it for me. That unkind and mean Dr's words is what changed the I need to lose weight to the I will lose weight. Almost a year to the day, I was 100 lbs lighter. What started out as really devestating me was the catalyst that got me going. I should shake her hand, but I still want to slap her

vingogly · July 2012

Hiring a personal trainer is what did it for me. They kicked my butt and showed me what I was capable of. I had no idea. It changed everything!

This, too. I worked with a personal trainer for a year -- strength training and one-on-one Pilates -- and it made a huge difference. It's expensive, though ... I spent my income tax refund plus my bonus last year for training. It was a great investment in myself. Recommended for those who can afford it.

20% diet and 80% mental?

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