Consistency

I try both physical and mental ways to overcome the speed bumps on the road to my goal. Its hard though. I think the key is to have realistic ways to over come the hurdles. That is the tough part for me, thinking realistically. Im trying though.
 
Oh I love when you post these deep questions lol.

I'm gonna say my problem is similar to Mal's. I am the BEST at arguing with myself. I can convince myself (and usually other people) of anything...which I guess is a good trait to have in some respects....but only if its used in the right way. So my problem with consistency is my daily, hourly, minutely (if thats a word) fights going on in my own mind. I do this with a lot of things, including schoolwork. I can reason to myself to not start writing a paper until 6am the morning its due. So I know I have this problem and I am working on fixing it, especially with my schoolwork.

With food I will do all kinds of things to convince myself that I deserve something. Also, I make myself think...well this is the last time you will have (insert yummy food) for a really long time....but if there is some new yummy thing everyday, that kind of mentality doesn't work. I do this a lot with Mexican food. When I'm at school I don't eat out much at all, but when I'm home, my family has a Mexican restaurant we have been going to since I was a baby, so we always go....and I always binge eat, convincing myself that its just because its one of my favorite foods and I won't get to eat it for a long time. But that same weekend I am home I will also go to 3 other restaurants with different friends and play the same game in my head.

So I think my problem has both to do with consistency and priorities. I seem to glorify food, so it always wins in these battles.
 
I agree w/ Mal saying that not being consistant can be habit. Thats totally my deal. I have NEVER been a consistant person. its not that I have some fear of being consistant or that something is keeping me from it....Its just not a habit. But its definetly a habit I want to start making!

Your asking alot of good questions Steve, I'm gonna have to go back and re-read everything again.

Hurdles huh? Well, a hurdle I have is definelty the mental part. I dont' think you can physically do something if you can't mentally accept it or strive for it. I would say IMO, that physical and mental routines are equally important. its one thing to want something, its another thing to DO it.
 
Steve said:
It seems to me like a lot of people just keep on plugging away getting lackluster results without ever taking a step back to analyze what's giving them trouble.
Click to expand...

Some people - who shall attempt to remain nameless :) also fall victim to the paralysis by analysis - I will spend far too much time focusing on what's wrong and what I'm not doing right - rather than getting my butt to do what I am doing right and knowing - eventually - because i'm too stubborn to give up... I will be able to do what I can't...

Analyis is good... but... it can also be a little frustrating at times..

there's a happy medium that exists...
 
For me, hurdles are entirely mental. If I'm on track, I don't need empty cupboards. (There's a half-eaten bar of chocolate right next to me. It's been there in the same half-eaten state for about a month. If I choose to have a piece of chocolate, it's there for me. But it doesn't call my name if I choose not to have one, either.) If I'm off track, empty cupboards are an excuse to go shopping.

On second thought, there's probably some physical component there. If I eat too much sugar and not enough protein, that feeds on itself, and makes it more likely that I'll keep eating more sugar and less protein. And too much sugar plus not enough protein makes me grumpy, which makes me more likely to choose to stay off-track. Doesn't make a bit of logical sense, because I feel better when I'm eating a more balanced diet. Sort of like being overtired and still staying up late. Which I also do.

The thing that works best for me is figuring out the emotional "why" behind things. Sometimes it's just 30+ years of bad habits, though - and that's a *much* easier situation to get back under control. I've historically snacked my way through tax season, with a bag of mini candy bars and a bag of M&Ms in my desk at all times. This year, I'm eating healthier food, and keep a bag of unsalted raw almonds on my desk. But I found myself thinking "Ooh, a dish of M&Ms would be great right now" this afternoon, and that was pure force of habit.
 
Well stated Mal

Heres a question...when someone is locked into a certain mentaility as you are describing. How do you break free of it? How do you break a way of thinking that you have ALWAYS had. For me, its all or nothing. I have to fight this very hard! I have only recently began to TRY 'analyzing' myself. I'm trying to figure out why I do what I do...however, i'm not a therapist. I don't really know what to ask myself and when I do figure something out where do I go from there....you know?

Recently while asking myself some questions, I have realized that the reason I am choosing to be overweight is b/c its EASIER to do. It takes less effort to stay overweight than to loose. OK, now I know that...what do I do now??
 
Exactly. When you're bound by a thought process that's been in place for decades..... breaking aways from said process without replacing it with something else is next to impossible.

The kicker is, replacing old ways of thinking with new is also pretty tricky.

But it's critical to figure out ways to make it happen considering all actions are derivatives of our thoughts.... especially habitual actions.

And identification of these negative thought patterns is step number 1.

By negative.... that doesn't mean it has to be a negative thought process. It can simply be a positive thought pattern that doesn't direct you to your goals.

A hugely successful process for me has been the identification and adjustment of my pain/pleasure links, as I've mentioned on here before.
 
Thanks for digging that up Mal....

Wow, I can't believe I let that thread die. I must have forgot about it or missed it.
 
oh cool, I just went back and read Steve's first post about pain/pleasure and it sounds almost identical to something my therapist recently told me (we were discussing my study habits though lol).

I had started to view doing any and all homework as the most painful thing....so I viewed it as "I have to do it". Which wasn't a good way of looking at it. So my therapist told me whenever I have that thought, replace it with the thought "I want to get this done". It sounds a little crazy, but the conscious act of saying something to yourself in your mind really works! When I began doing that, my body became a little less tensed and I lost the panic feeling.

It's weird how simple things like that can actually work.

I just recently started doing this with my homework, so I hadn't really given it much thought as to whether it could be applied to my entire lifestyle. I'm gonna try it....Instead of saying "I have to eat this" I'll tell myself "I want to eat this"....instead of "I have to never go to fast food places" say, "I don't want to go to fast food places".....instead of "I have to exercise today" say "I want to exercise today"...I think you get the point lol.

Anyways, it seems way too simple to actually work, but I'm going to give it a try. It definitely helped me in my academic life.
 
for me its like... "well ive been good all week and I feel gooda bout myself, and I feel like ive lost weight...so I guess I could go all out and eat that"

"eat that" would be bad high fat high calotie foods. I sometimes let myself think its OKAY to not work out or eat healthy that day, because ive been good..blah blah blah, and it become very inconsistant and then afterwords I feel like shit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top