| Well, Gail, its a huge topic and I'm tempted to go on and on about it,
but I'll try to keep this short (ish!) There are three main things I
try to keep in mind.
Firstly, what motivates someone to want to lose weight in the first
place? For me, its to achieve improved general health. Apart from
avoiding the well known risks of being overweight, there's the improved
sense of well-being that goes with being thinner. Successful weight
control also demonstrates that you are, to a degree, "in control" of
your life - a very satisfying feeling, I find.
Secondly, how do you get the motivation to get started? For me, it
seems it happens almost by chance - an odd remark from a friend, a
magazine article - even a note in a notesfile! It has also helped in
the past to decide early on how to go about it - what sort of diet to
follow, how much exercise to do, and so on. Too long a delay can be
demotivating here.
Thirdly - the hardest part of all - is how to keep a diet regime
together in the face of two main problems. On the one hand, there's
the HUGE temptation to eat the forbidden (Chocolate, YEAH!!!). On the
other, there's the fickle way our bodies react to dieting. Even on the
strictest diet with no cheating, weightloss can seem very erratic. So
an important part of one's mental armoury, as it were, is patience and
the ability to cope with disappointment. It can be very hard when you
find after a whole week of being very conscientious, you end up with a
loss of NIL or even a slight gain! Here, I disagree with the
conventional wisdom of weighing only once a week. I weigh every
morning, at the same time and same place, on an accurate set of scales.
This shows up all those little fluctuations in weight for what they are
- unimportant. But every few days, there's a drop - sometimes small,
sometimes quite dramatic, a pound or more - and I've reached a new
"low". Those little successes provide my real motivation!
The one thing I've found which doesn't work too well for me is the
"reach goal, get reward" type of motivation. Perhaps this is because
the rewards I might aspire to today, I'll tend to take for granted
tomorrow. The other problem is the demotivating effect of not reaching
the goal early enough, for whatever reason. Then the absence of the
reward can start to seem like some form of punishment! And punishment
and guilt is _definitely_ not a cycle you want to get into when you're
trying to lose weight.
Gosh, did I write all that? Hope it makes some kind of sense!
Brian
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| Re: motivation
I couldn't help but reply to this topic. For the first time in my
life, I'm losing weight consistently, and it's not nearly as difficult
as it used to be.
Here's what's happened to me:
Since I tend to self-diagnose, a great deal of reading led me to
believe that I have what is called "hyperinsulinism," a term coined by
some doctor several years ago; I read about it in Dr. Atkins New Diet
Revolution. Basically, it's a _severe_ intolerance to any kind of
carbohydrate, including fresh fruits. I started on September 13 of
this year with a complete blood work up from my doctor. In three weeks
of 20 grams or less per day of carbohydrates, I lost 13 pounds. Then I
increased my grams to 50-60 over the next three weeks and didn't show a
weight gain. My total weight loss since September 13 is 23 pounds, and
it seems to be staying off. I _had_ about 90 pounds to lose - now I
only have 70 to go to my "ideal" (for me) weight.
I think the biggest reason for my success is that, finally, after
I don't know how many hundreds of attempts at dieting, losing the
weight (i.e., getting healthy) is more important to me than eating the
sugar - or starch - or (fill-in-the-blank). A bite of something with
high sugar content is finally not worth it to me. There is something
more important than food in my life now. Food has finally become
secondary to getting on with life. Before, everything I did revolved
around food; now, I have to remind myself that food is for sustenance,
and that I need to eat daily.
One thing that has really motivated me is Tony Robbins' Personal Power
series. Through this 30-day program, I was able to set goals for
myself and realize that once I put my mind to it and decided that
something (losing weight) was so important to me that nothing could
keep me from succeeding at it, I would do it. I reinforce my feelings
daily -- when I get on the scale and I'm the same weight or less than I
was the last time I was on it; when the jeans I couldn't close on
September 10 are now worn on the third belt notch; when the "interview
suit" was so snug that I was glad I only had to wear it for an hour is
loose; when I tell myself that "I'm worth it!" and actually believe it.
I could go on and on, but you see what I mean.
Make losing the weight - or getting healthy - more important to you
than the food that got you to the weight you're at now. Tell yourself
that you're worth whatever it means to give up certain foods. Realize
that the pain of NOT losing the weight is greater than the pain of
losing the weight. When dieting, I've tended to believe that I'm
giving up something so important to me that I don't think I can live
without it. Now, the pain of _having_ that piece of chocolate would be
far worse than going without it, and I have the feeling of total
control over the food by not eating it. I'm at the point of
controlling the food, not it controlling me.
I know I've rambled a lot, but these are my thoughts today on
successfully losing weight. It's a matter of priorities, and I've
finally gotten mine straightened out. Everyone's priorities are
different; just make them your focus.
Have a great day!
Catherine
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| Thanks for your replies, Brian and Catherine. I think I can
take something from each of your messages to help me keep
trying.
You reminded me that, I too, have important reasons for wanting
to keep "in shape" - most importantly - good health.
Thanks!
Gail
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