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2006/02/05, 08:44 AM
Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help with man with the wrong mental attitude.
- W. W. Ziege
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2006/02/06, 09:17 AM
While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us.
Ben Franklin
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2006/02/07, 08:06 AM
NO ONE CAN DO THIS FOR YOU.
People can write up meal plans, create routines, give encouragement, spur you on... but no one can do the workouts or eat the meals for you.
You have to find what motivates you internally. You have to accept responsibility (I can't spell today, is that right?).
Your body, your life, your responsibility. PERIOD.
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In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time but the will that is lacking.
- Sir John Lubbock
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2006/02/09, 08:43 AM
Go forward confidently, energetically attacking problems, expecting favorable outcomes.
- Norman Vincent Peale
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2006/02/11, 10:31 AM
Message deleted by moderator due to unsuitable content for this board.
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2006/02/11, 10:38 AM
Sorry - here is the spell-checked version:
Well - how is everyone doing?
I want to talk about pushing through the times when you feel nothing is happening, despite your efforts. You know the times - you think you have been eating right, you think you have been pushing yourself hard, you think all your ducks are in a row, but you don't see progress.
Stop and look back for a moment. Are you keeping your food journal? Is it in measurements or just haphazardly recorded items? Are you keeping your workout log? have you progressed your poundage’s/ Are you sticking with a routine?
Have you taken recent comparison photos?
Sometimes the most useful thing is to re-evaluate what you are doing.
Start by taking those dreaded front, back and side photos in your swim trunks or undies. You can't hide what is going on from the camera. If you don't have previous photos to compare these ones to, then these become your 'before' photos. Now you will take photos once a month to compare - often when you feel you haven't changed there will be a slight visual change that you don't notice just by looking in the mirror.
Next, take measurements. Chest, waist, hips, thighs, calves, biceps and forearms. These are another place that you may not notice a lot of change in the mirror, but you may be amazed at the change month-to-month if you are on track. 1/4 - 1/2 an inch of any measurement sure is a motivational booster. Or a quarter inch added to your biceps or quads, if that is what you are after. Sometimes you get the pleasant surprise of both - inches lost on waist and hips, some gained on biceps and upper thighs. It is a good reinforcement for your motivation.
Now. Your food journal. I am not expecting anyone to be as anal as I am about my food journal - I use tracking software and record every meal, beverage, vitamin, etc. But - it is a good idea every few months to measure/weigh your portions. We tend to start eyeballing our amounts and we get a little generous over time. It is good to recheck your intake and see if it has been creeping up, or down. track yourself here at freetrainers for a few weeks. Or try a free trial of tracking software at www.dietpower.com, I find it a little more user friendly than freetrainers and it installs on your hard drive so you don't have to be online to enter info. Just be sure you are being honest with yourself about how healthfully you are eating. this is about lifestyle, not dieting. Learn to substitute healthier versions of the foods that create obstacles for you. Check the nutrition forum, we are adding recipes and ideas all of the time.
Workouts. Are you being consistent? Are you challenging yourself? Are you on a plan, or do you wander into the gym, do a few random exercises and consider it a workout? get into it, get enthused. learn to shut out every other thought than the one about the muscle you are working. When you work out, no matter where you work out, you need to find your zone and strive for peak performance. Not every workout will be a record breaker, but it should feel intense and be as much as you can give on that given day. record it, you will see results in more reps, more poundage’s. you will see results in ease of every day life activities.
Now - rewards. I think many of us spend our time looking at what we have done wrong, instead of what we have done right. Ate a cheeseburger on the fly for lunch? But did you have a healthy breakfast, will you choose a healthy dinner, did you make the decision to drink enough water, to hit the gym? Start counting up successes instead of looking for failures. And reward yourself. A new CD, a downloaded workout mix, a hot bubble bath with no interruptions, a pedi or manicure, a massage. make it a healthy self-caretaking reward, not one that counteracts your efforts (cheesecake, ahem)
Okay. re-evaluate and remember - it is darkest before the dawn, push through to the sunlight.
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Never, never, never, never give up.
- Winston Churchill
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2006/02/13, 10:12 AM
I was corresponding with someone and they are having a hard time with some bad habits re-occurring, i thought that this response might be useful to other people, too.
Is it possible you have post-partum depression?
Or are you rebelling against the changes that come with being a new mother? I think I went through a rebellious phase when my daughter was a baby, I wanted to escape back to being young and free and irresponsible.
Sit down and write a list of why things are important to you, like eating healthily, being sober, taking care of that precious baby. You have to realize that you have an obligation now to your child. If you need to seek professional help in dealing with some emotional issues, or to deal with your drinking, there is no shame in that.
I found that my focus shifted and my behavior changed when I realized that I had to take care of myself to take care of my child. I still have days where I want to runaway and not be a responsible adult, but they are fewer and farther between.
Get a relative or friend to take the baby for a few hours, take a hot bubble bath, spend some time setting goals that are achievable and figure out why they are important to you.
Take a piece of paper and write a line down the middle of it. On one side, list all of the things that will happen through time if you continue to drink, smoke, binge&purge, not take care of yourself. really project into the future - will you lose your health? Will you lose the ability to take care of your child? Will you die?
Now, on the other side of the paper, write down how good life could be if you made the changes you are considering - where will a healthier, more in-control life lead you? Will you rise up from your current situation, will you be a good role model for your child, will you find a new, stronger person inside yourself? Again, really project into the future what it would be like to be successful and what that means to you.
Good luck, keep me updated.
These are bumps in the road, put the vehicle into 4-wheel drive and power through.
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Never, never, never, never give up.
- Winston Churchill
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