Back in the Saddle Again

It's been one month today since my auto accident. Today we picked up a rental car so I was actually able to go to Curves.

I don't seem to be able to handle a number of problems at the same time so dieting and exercise had been put on the back burner. I'm not good with emotional eating and I've been rather emotional lately.

I just read a very good article here. Here's the jest of it.

This was a wake up call and something I really needed to read.

To really lose weight and keep it off, what you need to understand is not only will you need to eat better and be more active, you’ll need to do it forever. You’ll need to quash your urge for dramatic, instantaneous results.

Instead, you’ll need to be patient. You’ll need to be able to recognize the small achievements you make on this long road. You’ll need to create a motivational reserve so that when you feel like nothing is working or you’re simply tired of making the effort, you’ll be able to bolster yourself back up to stick with your leaner lifestyle.

The magic pill to reap the results you want is consistency.

The way to be consistent with the eating and exercise choices is to wrap
your mind around a whole new perspective. Here are five hard facts that you must know. Use them for a reality check. Read them and then read them again. Let them soak into your subconscious. They’ll help you psych yourself up to stick to a leaner life.

1) You may have to struggle (for a while).
Your first instinct may be to take an all-or-nothing approach. You’ll block out temptation by being strict about exercising and following a very specific food plan. But I can promise you, you won’t have long-term success that way. Instead, you should take it slower and smarter. You will need to make subtle changes in your life rather than drastic, temporary ones. This may feel more frustrating, as you teeter on the edge of discomfort long past the point where you feel motivated to
make a change. But you’ll need to keep making better food choices and prodding yourself to move more when you don’t feel like it. This is where the mental hurdles start. The good news is that once you’ve converted to a lean life, it does become easy. But in the beginning, especially after your first few weeks or months of feeling motivated, it will feel like a struggle, and you will have to push through that rough spot to succeed.

2) You are in this for the long haul.
This is where your mental fortitude comes in. You will need to psych yourself up to keep going when you don’t feel like you are getting any results. Revisit the anecdotes you’ve heard about people who have lost weight. You will notice that those who kept it off stuck with the program. Those who followed a trendy diet and lost oodles of fat, gained it all back when they eventually returned to their normal habits, habits that led to their weight gain in the first place. Notice that people who have successfully kept weight off generally are so busy there’s no time to fall back into old ways. Sure, they may join in on pizza binges, happy hours or cut back on workouts every now and again. But if they are experiencing long-term success with their weight loss, it’s because they are still sticking to healthy habits most of the time.

3You must improve the way you eat, not change it dramatically.

Trying to do too much at once is a recipe for failure because the changes won’t be realistic enough to stick with.Giving up all meat may not be possible if you love steaks and roast chicken. Axing all bread and pasta would be next to impossible to sustain if your family eats lots of Italian food. A fancy health club far from your home or office might look appealing on first blush, but you won’t go to it if it’s too inconvenient. There is no one diet or fitness plan that is perfect for everyone. You’ll need to identify your own eating and exercise patterns and then improve them with minor tweaks.


4) You must move more.
More people diet than exercise. For some reason it’s seems easier to deny yourself food than to get your butt off the couch. Many people ask me if they can get away with dieting but not exercising. The answer? No way.

5) Your body will fail you if you don’t take care of it.

Most people take better care of their cars than they do their bodies. But
every moment that you are not actively doing what your body needs to stay strong and healthy is another moment that you allow it to wither and deteriorate.