Just today, I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds. And I’ll weigh myself & use the tools and guidance from The Hacker’s Diet to help me reach (and keep) my goal.
Stephanie over at Back in Skinny Jeans has a post about making small changes steadily that makes a lot of sense. The central point to her discussion is that huge-grand diet and excercise plans can all too quickly fade to nothing. And they leave us with nothing — we’ve lost focus and energy before we ever made any significant changes. But that if make tiny incremental changes to our routine, changes that we can live with for a long time, we can actually have success.
And you can’t have a much smaller goal than mine right now. While I still want to lose a bunch of pounds by New Years, today my goals is to not-gain-weight. Thats all. I’ve lost a lot of weight this year. And things are getting crazy around the house. And that’s the first warning sign. Traditionally the next thing I know, I’ve gained 50 pounds.
I can remember every successful diet. And I remember the instant something shut off in my brain letting me lose control of my weight. I remember each time deciding not to weigh myself because I just didn’t want to face it. I remember taking a second piece of bread at dinner or buying a bag of candy to eat at a movie. And I remember deciding that I wouldn’t walk that day….
All of those things happened during times of unbelievable family stress. And they were totally understandable lapses. But I’m not going to let it happen again. I’ve already proved that I can make it.
Almost every one of those triggering events has happened this summer. But I haven’t let it get to me (much.) By taking Stephanie’s advice and focusing on the smallest goal (please don’t gain weight, please don’t let me stop caring) I kept just enough focus to keep control.
What baby steps keep you centered? What’s the bottom line for your weight-control issues?
Being able to recognize that threat is the hardest part. Good for you.
Bryan, I don’t know if it’s the hardest part — I hope it’s the most powerful part. It’s very scary to face periods like this but stressful times were bound to happen sometime.
Thanks for the encouragement.