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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Diet vs. lifestyle change

Trying to change your lifestyle is hard... trying to change it when you have 5 months straight of special occasions is REALLY hard.

November - Thanksgiving
December - Christmas
January - New Years and my birthday
February - Valentine's Day
March - Anniversary

But that's life.  I know this.  You know this.  So why does it become an "excuse" to not try as hard?  As you know I've been in kind of a rut lately with exercise and especially nutrition.  I keep thinking  to myself that I need to get this weight off by my class reunion and  I don't give much thought to what comes after that.  HUGE MISTAKE!  This has put so much pressure on myself!  Two months ago I had 7 months to try and lose 40 pounds.  One month ago I had 6 months to lose 40 pounds.  Now I have 5 months to lose 40.

The closer the date of the reunion comes, the more I feel like I shouldn't even try anymore because I can't possibly do 40 pounds in 6 months... 5 months... 4 months... etc.

My friend Dayne left me a comment on one of my last posts and it's something I need to keep reminding myself of:
Blogger Dayne Gingrich said...
"So much work to do (again)!" is an illusion. That type of thinking is very common, and speaks to a SHORT TERM mindset.

This isn't a diet-thing... or a losing-weight-thing. That's short term thinking. This journey is a LIFE CHANGE, with fluctuations forever. Some days we'll slip, other days we'll be as discipline as ever.

Accepting of these fluctuations is absolutely key. Short term diets or weight loss don't work because there's an unconscious finish line.

Instead, making it a life long walk, knowing we'll be up and down forever will take the pressure off, and allow it to become more consistent.

You DON'T have more work to do (again). There's not "again." There's only now. Today now and the next day now. Enjoy this journey.

And he's so right... I'm not trying to diet in the sense of what everyone thinks a "diet" is, but I'm trying to change my unhealthy habits.    Need to view things as a decision vs. a restriction. 

I'm gonna eat a salad for lunch because I choose to not because I have to.

Makes it a little easier, ya know?!  Gonna end with pictures from this past weekend's Christmas/birthday/Valentine's brunch.  Gorgeous views and awesome food... can't go wrong!





5 comments:

Amanda said...

It can be hard not to let special occasions throw you for a loop. I'm still trying to figure it out. It was so easy when I was maintaining, but losing is SUCH a different story for me, one "special occasion" dinner can screw up a whole week's work for me. Ugh. I'm actually grappling with this dilemma right now as my bday is Saturday and we are going out to a nice dinner with my family. I want to enjoy myself but don't want to backtrack. I'm thinking I will try to be healthy, because in the end that makes me happiest. Stay the course!

Unknown said...

It is so hard to not get into the trap of losing for a specific occasion or event. I know that I've done that in the past, and whether I reach my goal or not by that date I always experience failure - either by not losing x amount by that date or by losing it and then quickly regaining.

It's so much easier eating healthy food and exercising if there is an end date in sight, and so much more difficult choosing to make health a lifelong goal.

I wish I had advice to give, but this is my same struggle. Some days I feel more successful than others. It's nice to have others out there that struggle with similar things and I look forward to hearing more about your lifestyle changes!

Nomi said...

Hi! I found your page through someone's page, but don't give up and think that you can't do this!
Take steps day by day, nothing that is worth it in life will come easy.
I recently started a blog about making healthy choices. I'm not trying to lose weight or anything, but I'm trying to eat a lot healthier. I find that making a log of everything you do is helpful because you can visually see what you have done and see what things you need to work on!
Best of luck :) you can do it!! :):)

Just Jen said...

I just stumbled on this post...and it hit home because a few pounds have snuck up on me in the past 3 months. I'm back in to a fitness routine, but I too have a busy life. What I've found is that for those days that are special occasions, allow yourself to enjoy, but don't over indulge. Enjoy a cupcake on your birthday rather than an entire cake...enjoy a dash of stuffing or mashed potatoes instead of an entire spoonful.

I can share all this because today is my birthday and I will celebrate it this weekend. I will go to (gasp) an Italian restaurant and enjoy a terrible dish. But I will also make sure that is accompanied by a HUGE salad so that I don't over indulge. So don't let the special days ruin things...adjust your mindset to allow yourself to enjoy without over indulging. Good luck!

And if you need inspiration or something, hop on over to my insanity blog:

http://travelinginsanely.blogspot.com/

P90X Reviews said...

I've found is that for those days that are special occasions, allow yourself to enjoy, but don't over indulge. Enjoy a cupcake on your birthday rather than an entire cake...enjoy a dash of stuffing or mashed potatoes instead of an entire spoonful.