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Conference rocks::weight_control

Title: Weight Loss and Maintenance
Notice:**PLEASE** enter notes in mixed case (CAPS ARE SHOUTING)!
Moderator:ASICS::LESLIE
Created:Tue Jul 10 1990
Last Modified:Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:933
Total number of notes:9931

319.0. "Frustration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" by MSDOA1::MCMULLIN () Thu Jul 07 1988 16:24

    I'm so frustrated with myself!!  I've never had any trouble "dieting"
    but I've never been able to keep the weight off after I lose it.
    I've gained 20 lbs in the last year and a half after losing about
    40.  I don't want to gain all my weight back and I want to lose
    the 20 plus about 5 to 10 more, but I can't get motivated enough
    to do it.  I'll do ok for about 5 to 10 days, then something will
    happen where I blow the whole thing and pig out for 4 or 5 days
    until I start feeling guilty and start dieting again for 5 to 10
    days.  Why can't I get the motivation I need to lose this weight?
    I don't want to wait until I need to lose 50 or 60 before I try
    to lose, but at the rate I'm going, it's heading in that direction.
    I know I've got a weight problem (I've ALWAYS had one) and I know
    I want to do something about it, but what can I do to MAKE myself
    do this???  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!
    
    Virginia

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319.1hang in thereVTMADE::BUCKMon Jul 11 1988 18:1111
    
    First What makes you go off the diet?????????
    I find myself that if I get mad at myself I eat...
    It's a way of punishment to myself..
    I have gone from 167 to 147 now I am back to 150 
    But Others here at work keep telling me I look better
    That makes me feel guilty if I don't keep loosing.
    so I am back at it again. Look fore your weak spot and keep
    trying..
                  sally

319.2REMIND yourself of your goal!BMT::HERMITTYou and I while we can...Mon Jul 11 1988 18:2146
               
> what can I do to MAKE myself do this??? 
 
   Virginia,

	You have got to do just that: make yourself do it.  Of course, 
you should always keep in mind the benefits that you will derive; look 
and feel better, be healthier, etc.  But these are long-term effects 
of changing your behavior.  I think you need to concentrate on the 
things you need to do daily to reach your goal (and you should have a 
specific goal in mind, like a weight target or dress size).

	What I find helps me is to make the changes in behavior 
HABITUAL.  That is, make them part of your routine, so that you 
eventually do them without thinking much about it.  An example: when I 
get up in the morning, I brush my teeth; sometimes I find myself doing 
it without contemplating it at all.  Its a habit.  Now, I have as a 
goal to make a few more things part of my daily ritual, namely to
weigh myself first thing in the a.m., to drink lots of water every 
day, and to stop eating altogether after 8-9 p.m.  What I've been 
trying lately is to link these actions with others that are already 
habitual.  So, I'm trying to condition myself so that as soon as I 
pick up my toothbrush, I think, "did I weigh myself?"  As soon as I 
open the fridge door, I think, "have I drunk enough water today?"  If 
you usually have a snack before bed, you could set your alarm clock 
for just before you go to bed: condition yourself so that when it 
rings, you THINK CONSCIOUSLY about whether you've eaten anything bad 
after dinner.  These are little things you can do to REMIND yourself 
of your goal and your desire to attain it.  Keep your goal in the 
front of your mind, because if you push it to the back, you'll get 
distracted and lose ground.


	You've got to reach your goal one day at a time.  And I really
believe in "never say diet".  If you want to lose and be healthier,
change your eating patterns permanently, not just for a one-week or
one-month diet.  A diet is a temporary change; it implies that you can
"go off" it when you reach your goal!  My point is, don't think of a 
new, sensible eating pattern as a "diet"; think of it (consciously and 
often!) as a new, better part of your lifestyle.

	Well, I've rambled on long enough.  This stuff sure is easy to 
talk about and hard to do, isn't it?  Good luck.

	Tom