Make a game plan and stick to it! That’s what the diet gurus say. I am a believer that setting goals (and keeping them) helps you stay the course with a diet. A fluffy goal to “lose weight” probably isn’t good enough. Big goals = better motivation.
Everyone always talks about realistic goals. That’s an interesting one, because it really means something different to everyone. I have a “thin” friend who is always concerned about the extra “10 pounds” she’s carrying. And I think, “What ten pounds?!” It’s hard for a fat person to relate to that. Another of my friends is what I’d call normal. But she, too, worries about the extra pounds she sees on her frame. It’s all perspective.
I have found myself on an emotional roller-coaster of motivation, celebration, and frustration over the last few weeks. Very happy that I’m losing weight, of course, but still struggling with the long-haul motivation. I started 35 additional pounds ago – and that feels good. I have so many pounds left to go – and that doesn’t. Everyone has been so kind and supportive – again, a real positive. But me? I struggle with my attitude.
So back to the game plan. Am I on track? Not exactly. I really hoped to be losing at a better rate. I just can’t seem to behave well every day. Two pounds per week was the plan, and I’m not getting there. I’m following the rules (mostly) – weighing once a week, staying with a work-out plan, keeping a food log, and clearly keeping in touch with how I’m feeling. So it’s the mostly part that’s at issue … am eating off the plan, too often? Not logging accurately? Snacking? Re-valuation time.
I suppose another key is staying mentally strong. I just have to remind myself why I’m doing this. I try to keep mental “before and after” pictures of life as a thinner me. Another of my friends, who is on her own weight-loss journey, says she has motivational quotes stuck to her fridge, computer, and bathroom mirror. Perhaps a way to stay focused on the reasons for the diet? Sometimes it just helps me to remember how I felt in that other body … the one I had before the fat … I think that was about 1990!
So what about rewards? Praise for good behavior is a good thing, and I have to remind myself that it needs to come from me. I had intended to reward myself in some more tangible way at the landmark weights … hitting 299 was one of those, but I didn’t really have a reward in mind. Now I’m headed to the next major celebration … 275. And I do have a plan – clothes. I’m going to limp along with what I have since I still have about nine sizes of clothes, I think. Well, not really, but enough to get by. But I think by then I will need an influx of more fitting clothes.
Another good thing for me to remember is that it really is okay to eat off the plan, occasionally. That’s a reward in itself. And, of course, just the tiny celebrations for each pound lost – and how amazing that is! Rewards don’t have to be food – perhaps I’ll plan in a movie reward, or even a day off from everything! Yep – little steps, big rewards – have to remember that …