So you've been at this weight loss thing for a while now, and all of a sudden you feel like no matter what you do, you're simply not moving towards your weight loss goal.
So what do you do? Simple - STOP! I don't mean the diet or the exercising, I mean mentally just stop, take a few deep breaths, take a few moments to collect your thoughts and start to notice all your changes you have made so far.
What do I mean by this? Well, let's begin by actually recognising your weight loss successes so far. For me, last week I lost 7lbs, this week so far I have 'only' lost 4. Seriously! my inner critic has been trying to devalue my successes with the word 'only', consequently making me feel that I not 'good enough'! When comparing last weeks weight loss to this weeks so far, ok, so it's not as high, but when you think that in just under 2 weeks I have lost 11lbs (!!!!!!!!!!), that inner critic can just take a very long walk off a very short pier. Actually, 11lbs is amazing!
But don't just look at the figures, look at yourself- again, I can only speak to you from personal experience, it's up to you to find your own highlights (I promise you the more you look the more there will be!). Personally, already I am finding that clothes are starting to fit and feel a little better, silly things like desk chairs & sun loungers are feeling slightly bigger, and I'm not heading towards the kitchen everytime I have an emotional need to fill.
No matter how small you think it is (or in reality how you think others will think it is), you must recognise (even write down!) all the changes you've noticed since you started your journey. Even if your journey started yesterday - what have you noticed already!
Every time your inner critic pops up, go grab your list of highlights, and really remind yourself of not only the weight you have lost, but all the positive changes in your life so far, and then square up to and challenge that inner critic.
With a list as long as yours, you can't be anything else but super successful. Believe in yourself, believe in your achievements and your ability to achieve even more than you already have done, and really see for yourself that the only thing that inner critic is good for is talking rubbish and wasting valuable thoughts and energy!
xx
Showing posts with label emotional eater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emotional eater. Show all posts
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
30 Day Kick Start Plan - Day 1
So you want to lose 30lbs in 30 days. Can it be done? should it be done?
There are lots of yay sayers and nay sayers on the subject – personally I haven’t made my mind up yet, the idea of losing 30lbs in 30 days is a very enticing one, and I suppose as in life, what seems impossible is actually very possible – it just depends on your attitude, approach and naturally your flexibility!
Right from the start I will stress that I will NOT be starving myself or depriving myself in any way shape or form in order to lose weight. I don’t condone starvation as a weight loss method as I fully believe in working WITH your body, not against it. Your body has the know how, we just have to put our listening ears on, and go with it.
In order to achieve a loss of 30lbs in 30 days, I believe that I need to address my diet, ‘have’ a daily routine in which exercise is incorporated and ensure that I remain motivated and focused throughout.
Writing up a daily success schedule has helped put into perspective everything I need and want to achieve on a daily basis – including exercise. So that this new schedule isn’t too overwhelming, my plan is to incorporate one new element at a time, so by the end of the 30 days I will be literally ‘living’ the dream – I’ll go into more detail about this success schedule in another blog.
For my diet, I am going to stick with what I know best - counting and logging calories. For some people they can’t stand the thought of this, for me, it’s how I regain control over what goes into my mouth.
As far as motivation and focus goes, this is where my iPhone comes in very handy! I’m not a techno geek by any stretch of the imagination (in fact I’m quite the opposite), but as it turns out, my iPhone can be quite an empowering tool for success! On it, I have Apps to look up count and track calories, ‘coaches’ who say something rude if you want to eat anything naughty (makes me laugh every time!), diary to record my thoughts, virtual images to show what being my goal weight looks like in comparison to the weight I am now, and best of all Paul McKenna’s I Can Make You Thin – whereby I have a success journal, hypnosis track, and motivational videos, I even have a 30 day count app to tell me how many days are left to go!
Put that altogether, focusing and following through on a consistent daily basis should mean a loss of 30lbs in 30 days right?
Well, provided I follow through with my intentions, in 30 days, we’ll find out :D
There are lots of yay sayers and nay sayers on the subject – personally I haven’t made my mind up yet, the idea of losing 30lbs in 30 days is a very enticing one, and I suppose as in life, what seems impossible is actually very possible – it just depends on your attitude, approach and naturally your flexibility!
Right from the start I will stress that I will NOT be starving myself or depriving myself in any way shape or form in order to lose weight. I don’t condone starvation as a weight loss method as I fully believe in working WITH your body, not against it. Your body has the know how, we just have to put our listening ears on, and go with it.
In order to achieve a loss of 30lbs in 30 days, I believe that I need to address my diet, ‘have’ a daily routine in which exercise is incorporated and ensure that I remain motivated and focused throughout.
Writing up a daily success schedule has helped put into perspective everything I need and want to achieve on a daily basis – including exercise. So that this new schedule isn’t too overwhelming, my plan is to incorporate one new element at a time, so by the end of the 30 days I will be literally ‘living’ the dream – I’ll go into more detail about this success schedule in another blog.
For my diet, I am going to stick with what I know best - counting and logging calories. For some people they can’t stand the thought of this, for me, it’s how I regain control over what goes into my mouth.
As far as motivation and focus goes, this is where my iPhone comes in very handy! I’m not a techno geek by any stretch of the imagination (in fact I’m quite the opposite), but as it turns out, my iPhone can be quite an empowering tool for success! On it, I have Apps to look up count and track calories, ‘coaches’ who say something rude if you want to eat anything naughty (makes me laugh every time!), diary to record my thoughts, virtual images to show what being my goal weight looks like in comparison to the weight I am now, and best of all Paul McKenna’s I Can Make You Thin – whereby I have a success journal, hypnosis track, and motivational videos, I even have a 30 day count app to tell me how many days are left to go!
Put that altogether, focusing and following through on a consistent daily basis should mean a loss of 30lbs in 30 days right?
Well, provided I follow through with my intentions, in 30 days, we’ll find out :D
Friday, 6 August 2010
Weight Loss Challenge - Day Twelve
Wow! what a difference a day makes! As mentioned yesterday, I completed my 'mood form' (not it's official name, it's a work in progress!), and I have to say, I did find that the dark cloud lifted slightly.
As the day progressed, I ate sensibly, eating treated myself to a couple of cups of coffee (this happens once maybe twice a year), and went to bed in a timely fashion.
Consequently I woke up this morning feeling refreshed, motivated and as determined as ever! Hurrah!!
You see, this is the effect that a weight management coach can have!
As seems to be the habit I had another 'unofficial' weigh in this morning, (I really must put those scales away until Monday), it would appear that another lb of flesh has somehow disintegrated from my body somewhere. Which makes so far this week a weight loss of 3lbs, and 5lbs since I first started twelve days ago. I think that is what you call slow but steady progress :)
Not only that, but I managed to wake up before the alarm, get my toning workout done with a couple of extra moves and incorporate a small amount of jogging into my treadmill exercise.
Very happy bunny - it just goes to show that life is really all about perspective. Yesterday glass was half glass; what do you mean I've 'only' lost 2lbs so far! Today my glass is positively over flowing!
Word of caution. I do realise that today is Friday, and that ahead of me are now three days where I could potentially undo all this hard work. Main aim of the game now is to keep this momentum and focus up until Monday.
One thing that is in the forefront of my mind, is that my other half has a busy weekend ahead of him, which consequently means I'll be spending quite a bit of the next two days on my own. As an emotional eater, it is usually at this time I take the opportunity to indulge in a little comfort eating, call it loneliness, boredum, or simply because I can be 'naughty' and nobody will know (except for the scales!).
So how do I get around this little obstacal? Well the logical thing would be to plan ahead what I will be doing over the next couple of days as a good distraction. As I do literally have about a millions things I could be doing, ranging from working on my own business, the garden, housework, baking, or enjoying other hobbies I enjoy such as singing, tapestry, watercolour, reading, taking the dog out for an explore etc - I really need to sit down and have a serious think about what I fancy doing this weekend.
As the day progressed, I ate sensibly, eating treated myself to a couple of cups of coffee (this happens once maybe twice a year), and went to bed in a timely fashion.
Consequently I woke up this morning feeling refreshed, motivated and as determined as ever! Hurrah!!
You see, this is the effect that a weight management coach can have!
As seems to be the habit I had another 'unofficial' weigh in this morning, (I really must put those scales away until Monday), it would appear that another lb of flesh has somehow disintegrated from my body somewhere. Which makes so far this week a weight loss of 3lbs, and 5lbs since I first started twelve days ago. I think that is what you call slow but steady progress :)
Not only that, but I managed to wake up before the alarm, get my toning workout done with a couple of extra moves and incorporate a small amount of jogging into my treadmill exercise.
Very happy bunny - it just goes to show that life is really all about perspective. Yesterday glass was half glass; what do you mean I've 'only' lost 2lbs so far! Today my glass is positively over flowing!
Word of caution. I do realise that today is Friday, and that ahead of me are now three days where I could potentially undo all this hard work. Main aim of the game now is to keep this momentum and focus up until Monday.
One thing that is in the forefront of my mind, is that my other half has a busy weekend ahead of him, which consequently means I'll be spending quite a bit of the next two days on my own. As an emotional eater, it is usually at this time I take the opportunity to indulge in a little comfort eating, call it loneliness, boredum, or simply because I can be 'naughty' and nobody will know (except for the scales!).
So how do I get around this little obstacal? Well the logical thing would be to plan ahead what I will be doing over the next couple of days as a good distraction. As I do literally have about a millions things I could be doing, ranging from working on my own business, the garden, housework, baking, or enjoying other hobbies I enjoy such as singing, tapestry, watercolour, reading, taking the dog out for an explore etc - I really need to sit down and have a serious think about what I fancy doing this weekend.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Weight Loss Challenge - Day Eleven
Today I am feeling totally unmotivated. It started off by waking up at 6am, seeing that the alarm didn't go off and thinking 'ahh perhaps I forgot, cool I'll have a lay in' only for the alarm to go off two minutes later! bugga.
Ah well, so I got up, and before I started exercising I got onto the scales to see how I'm doing. Major mistake!
The scales tell me that I have in the past three days lost 2lbs. Instead of celebrating, I am feeling quite upset, disappointed, angry and unmotivated because what I wanted to see was three, not two! I know, what a half glass empty attitude.
So now I have unnecessarily put myself in this negative state, I began my toning workout - no problems there. However, when it came to the treadmill, I did two minutes, and just stopped. I really wasn't in the mood for it, so I recorded my YouTube video diary instead.
It's amazing how one single thing can have the domino effect. If I hadn't of got onto the scales, I probably wouldn't be feeling like a failure and be in this negative state etc. But hang on a minute, I've lost 2lbs in three days, surely that should be something to be pleased about for heavens sake!?
Part of being a Weight Management Coach is not only being able to be resourceful, but being fully prepared for any situation that could detract from the end goal.
Now I know from past experience that if I allow this 'mood' to continue for too long today, then I am likely to psychologically give up on myself, and resort back to old eating habits. That's what emotional eaters do, they give up, then console their lack of success with food - and lots of it!
Luckily I have devised a small form for just these occasions. Essentially it is designed to identify not only the mood, but the underlying problem that really caused it, and then try and workout not only how to get out of that state of mind, but to assist in recognising the mood in the future and either get out of it quicker, or more preferably, to avoid it altogether by nipping it in the bud.
Of course, it hasn't been physically tried and tested, so this morning before I do anything else, it would be a good idea to see if it actually works!
Ah well, so I got up, and before I started exercising I got onto the scales to see how I'm doing. Major mistake!
The scales tell me that I have in the past three days lost 2lbs. Instead of celebrating, I am feeling quite upset, disappointed, angry and unmotivated because what I wanted to see was three, not two! I know, what a half glass empty attitude.
So now I have unnecessarily put myself in this negative state, I began my toning workout - no problems there. However, when it came to the treadmill, I did two minutes, and just stopped. I really wasn't in the mood for it, so I recorded my YouTube video diary instead.
It's amazing how one single thing can have the domino effect. If I hadn't of got onto the scales, I probably wouldn't be feeling like a failure and be in this negative state etc. But hang on a minute, I've lost 2lbs in three days, surely that should be something to be pleased about for heavens sake!?
Part of being a Weight Management Coach is not only being able to be resourceful, but being fully prepared for any situation that could detract from the end goal.
Now I know from past experience that if I allow this 'mood' to continue for too long today, then I am likely to psychologically give up on myself, and resort back to old eating habits. That's what emotional eaters do, they give up, then console their lack of success with food - and lots of it!
Luckily I have devised a small form for just these occasions. Essentially it is designed to identify not only the mood, but the underlying problem that really caused it, and then try and workout not only how to get out of that state of mind, but to assist in recognising the mood in the future and either get out of it quicker, or more preferably, to avoid it altogether by nipping it in the bud.
Of course, it hasn't been physically tried and tested, so this morning before I do anything else, it would be a good idea to see if it actually works!
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Weight Loss Challenge - Day Ten
I still can't believe I am ten days in and still going strong! Just have to keep up the focus and this momentum and fingers crossed I'll be seeing good results by Monday.
It was a bit of an odd (and long!) day yesterday which is why I have 'skipped' a day as far as the blog is concerned.
However, that being said, I am please to report that not only did I do my toning exercises, I also did 30 minutes walking on the treadmill and a further 15 minutes using the strider.
Food wise, well I ate only very slightly more than was intended, and instead of having soup as planned for dinner, I ended up having a cheese & pepperoni sandwich with a can of Sprite. I know, before you all start bashing me over the head, I know that was completely the wrong thing to have. The real problem was that I developed a negative state last night, and food is the comfort for me. Whilst I was eating dinner I was thinking I shouldn't be having this, and worse still afterwards my insides felt terrible. I no longer had the light and floaty feelings I had throughout the course of the day - so much for not eating bread anymore! I will get there, this is just going to take a bit more time to adjust than anticipated.
So what should I have done last night? Well, instead of reaching for the fridge (when I could have actually skipped dinner as I wasn't hungry at all!), I should have reached for a pen and paper. As I know I am an emotional eater, I have developed a sheet for me to fill in for whenever I find myself in a negative state. Essentially I write down what the mood is, what the situation was that triggered it, what the real cause is etc. The point is to identify the 'mood', and try to reverse it with good old fashioned logical thinking. The theory being, by reasoning myself out of a negative state will help prevent me from going into the kitchen every time things don't entirely go my way. Would have been great yesterday, if only I had the form to hand!!
It was a bit of an odd (and long!) day yesterday which is why I have 'skipped' a day as far as the blog is concerned.
However, that being said, I am please to report that not only did I do my toning exercises, I also did 30 minutes walking on the treadmill and a further 15 minutes using the strider.
Food wise, well I ate only very slightly more than was intended, and instead of having soup as planned for dinner, I ended up having a cheese & pepperoni sandwich with a can of Sprite. I know, before you all start bashing me over the head, I know that was completely the wrong thing to have. The real problem was that I developed a negative state last night, and food is the comfort for me. Whilst I was eating dinner I was thinking I shouldn't be having this, and worse still afterwards my insides felt terrible. I no longer had the light and floaty feelings I had throughout the course of the day - so much for not eating bread anymore! I will get there, this is just going to take a bit more time to adjust than anticipated.
So what should I have done last night? Well, instead of reaching for the fridge (when I could have actually skipped dinner as I wasn't hungry at all!), I should have reached for a pen and paper. As I know I am an emotional eater, I have developed a sheet for me to fill in for whenever I find myself in a negative state. Essentially I write down what the mood is, what the situation was that triggered it, what the real cause is etc. The point is to identify the 'mood', and try to reverse it with good old fashioned logical thinking. The theory being, by reasoning myself out of a negative state will help prevent me from going into the kitchen every time things don't entirely go my way. Would have been great yesterday, if only I had the form to hand!!
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