Thoughtful Thursday

Today has been a very thoughtful kind of day. I have been considering reasons why I am not losing as much weight as I wanted to, and I found a few articles that may help.

This article gives 4 reasons why you may not be losing weight like you wanted/thought you would. 1) "You're not fully commited". This is one that I struggle with. If I can't find the right motivation, I lose commitment and it becomes less important in my life. I have to constantly remind myself of my motives and goals, or find new ones so that I will keep going. The temptations jump out at me more persistently if I'm not fully committed. 2) "People expect miracles". I don't think that I expect miracles, so I don't think this one is an issue for me. I know that some people, though, jump into weight loss programs expecting to lose all this weight and when they don't lose it immediately they get discouraged and give up. Weight loss is not an immediate thing, it takes hard work and time, so going into it expecting miracles will just lead to disappointment. 3) "Your plan isn't sustainable". This is why focusing more on living healthy is the most important thing, rather than weight loss alone. If you make being healthy into a lifestyle, then it is sustainable over the long-run as opposed to something short lived/extreme that will fizzle out sooner than later. 4) "You can't forgive your slip-ups". This is the other thing that I have a hard time with. If I mess up or even take a break from being so intense, I feel so guilty and like I'm letting myself and others down. I have to let myself rest without guilt, and allow myself to mess up here and there. If I don't, I will just make myself crazy and I will lose heart and quit to go back to being unhealthy. This is where I try to use the 80/20 rule that I have talked about, where you do good at least 80% of the time so that you can get over slip ups for 20% of the time. So, forgive and forget....that's the best thing to do :-) Here's the link to the full article.

Another article I found talks about reasons your diet may get off track. It lists 5 reasons why. 1)Boredom. This is SO true! I know that consistency is a good thing, but eating the same thing all the time just gets so old. 2)Getting too lax. I am guilty of this sometimes for sure. I get comfortable in whatever diet/method (a specific diet like weight watchers or a method such as just being healthy)I'm using and I get lax and don't do it 100%. This is kind of like boredom for me. If I get to comfortable in what I'm doing, I will make excuses as to why I don't have to do it totally right and that I'll make up for it later. Of course, I never make up for it and end up feeling horrible about it. This is another reason to switch it up and eat something different rather than the same old food every day. 3)Vacation. This one is tough, but at least if this is the case, it only lasts a short amount of time. Unless you get extended vacation or something of course (lucky you if you do, haha). When I'm on vacay, I just wanna chill and let loose, not watch myself and monitor what I'm eating all the time. In this case, moderation is the key. As long as I don't go overboard and stuff myself, I should be okay and not incur any damage. Also, exercising while on vacay is important too if I'm not planning on being careful with food. If I'm at the beach, that's easy because I LOVE a run on the beach. Other locales are harder, but it's not too difficult to find something to do.4)Parties. This is a really big factor in the summer (like right now) or during the holidays. There is always a reason to have a party this time of year it seems, and those throwing the party may not know or care that a guest is looking to eat healthy or lose weight. And even if they did, who wants to make 50 different things to please everyone?! I know I don't. So again, moderation is key, as well as maybe eating a little something before going so that I'm not starving when I arrive. If I'm too hungry, all healthy thoughts will be gone out of my head, and I will just be wanting to eat anything in sight. Also, making sure to exercise before I go helps me stay mindful of what I am eating. 5)Stress. This is definitely a biggie. Stress does several things to your body. First, it makes your body hold on to fat. Second, it makes you want to eat more. This is a dangerous combination for weight loss goals. Exercising is a great stress reliever, and it helps me focus and feel better. Also, yoga is fantastic for stress relief, as is meditation. I don't do meditation very well unless I'm listening to a "guide" of some sort. It is definitely relaxing, but I can't do it by myself. I know that research supports that meditation is good for mind/body harmony, so it's definitely something worth trying. Lack of sleep is also a factor in stress. I have trouble getting into bed at a decent hour, so I know I need to work on that. Also, there are herbal teas that are very helpful in calming the mind and body, like chamomile and others. The ones I have tried are very good, and they really do work. I slept great the nights that I drank them. You can look at the article here.

That's all I've got for today. Stay fit!