Monday, February 8, 2010

The "How to"

To achieve any goal we must have a plan, to get somewhere we need to answer 2 questions:

1. Where am I going?
2. How am I going to get there?

Now that I already know where I am going.... I need to have clear directions to know how to get there.... or I might take longer than I should, I might get lost, I might even forget where I was going!

As you can see I added a ticker on top of my blog... I have a very specific, healthy and realistic amount of weight I know I should lose, I've been a size 2 in the past but if I set that as my goal I know I would see myself frustrated and I want my weight loss for the first time to be for health reasons not only for the way "I want to look no matter what"

So... How am I going to get there?

Just as my goal should be realistic, my changes and ways of doing it should be realistic too... I can't set methods I won't be able to keep because that will only guarantee I will fail once again!

So here are the things I will be doing now:

1. Keep a food journal. (where I will registry everything I eat, track calories and identify where I can make better choices, etc.)

2. Drink more water (Right now I drink juice too, so I am getting rid of that! It's just extra sugar, I do not drink any soda already, so that shouldn't be a problem, I need to make sure I get at least 8 cups of water daily)

3. Reduce salt (UGH! I love salt! I know I should check the amounts of sodium I get! I am sure this will help make a big difference)

4. Exercise consistently (Right now I am trying to exercise 1hr. Mon-Fri so I have to exercise 1hr. -minimum- everyday)

5. Learn to say "No thanks" Not everything that people offers I have to say YES! immediately, I learned a book once that said how many times we, compulsive eaters, eat just because we have this feeling of "not being able to eat it" or the feeling of "this is a special occasion, who knows when I'll be able to eat this food again" .... it's all a rebellious attitude because of the deprivation feeling! So I have to remember that I can actually EAT ANYTHING whenever I want... it's just that I am CHOOSING not to because... (and here is where my next point comes)

6. Remember why I am doing this "I choose to eat healthier and exercise because_____________" : And here is where I've struggled in the past... Many times when I am on a "diet" or "exercising to lose weight" I've done it with this feeling of anger towards me! I've done it to "punish the fat woman in me" I've done it upset because I "can't eat like others do" instead of eating healthier and exercising because I want to feel better... Because I DESERVE TO eat healthier and not all that junk that really hurts me, I should see the eating healthier and exercising like "an act of love" towards me, a reward instead of a punishment for being "such a bad girl" ....

7. Not get obsessed with the scale! This is such a struggle... I have to remember that yes, I want to lose weight, but I have to see the big picture and not the "here and now" even if the scale doesn't change as much and as fast as I want to I have to remember that the changes I am making are all good and will help me achieve the good health I need, the weight will eventually change too! So I will be getting on the scale only once every week. (instead of 5 times a day)

8. Post on this blog... I see it almost like therapy.... and I know that the encouragement from others who are or were in my situation will be a great help for me.

9. And last but NOT LEAST ... Pray! I have to pray about all this... Because there is really NOTHING I can do without Him by my side, I have to remember that when I am weak HE is strong and that I can be freed of this addiction, letting him carry my burdens, my anxiety and going to Him when I feel sad, upset, lonely or anything like that instead of looking for refuge and comfort in food that never completely fills me.

Thanks for reading!

Thin-side out.

2 comments:

  1. I am right there with ya! I am trying to lose weight too and I have always struggled to do so. I'm just trying to remember that my ultimate goal is to get healthy - that way I wont obessess over the scale. Following you from SITS! Will def be rooting for ya

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  2. I just started a food journal this morning :)

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