I think this perception will change. At least I hope it will for you.
Lyle is right, lean people who dieted down from a fatter spot are not the same as naturally lean people. Unfortunately.
Same goes for me though. I am naturally a "skinny bastard." Disgustingly skinny IMO when it comes to being an adult male. However, I relentlessly attacked what I did not like about my physical appearance until it changed.
Most don't have that kind of internal drive. I probably wouldn't have either if I did not grow up surrounded by health, activity, sports, etc. Our brains are wild pieces of machinery. Let them go, uncontrolled, for a long enough time and all of a sudden, you've got a lot of weeds growing in the garden, if you know what I mean.
I am currently helping my cousin, God love her. There are 6 of us who grew up together. She was always the fat one. Always. She is now 28 yrs old. For 27 years, her mind was cultivated to act as "the fat one." That is a lot of freaking cultivating!!!
And I am sure you know what I mean.
Being "the fat one" means for her, and many others I have helped:
a) exercise is not for me, nor is it fun
b) who cares if I eat poorly, I am already fat
c) even if I try to lose weight, it is just going to come back on
d) this is my body, like it or not, fat forever
And the list can go through many alphabets! These are just words here in this post, but a, b, c, d, and so on..... these are all absolute beliefs that are carved in stone in your subconscious mind.
For my cousin, I trained her perfectly. Went to the gym with her, showed her every single step that she should take. Exactly how to eat. When to eat, when to exercise, what not to do. I typed up program after program for her with explicit instructions. I made her tell me when she was unsure or unhappy with things, and we would adapt. Still, with so much attention to detail and adapting, she only adhered to the program probably 50% of the time. I could not force her to take action, nor would I.
Finally, I stopped what I was doing and started working on her thought patterns. As soon as we started focusing on that, there was an immediate increase in adherence. And it has improved to the point where she can honestly call this her lifestyle now. She lives and breathes it, not because she feels the need to, but rather, because she wants to. She started at 275, she is now 175ish. However, she looks freaking awesome.
Changing the carvings that have been repetitively carved in your mind since birth is extremely difficult. More difficult, I would say, than anything else related to making this change. Diet, EASY! Running, A CINCH! Lifting weight, SIMPLE! These things are easy relative to not only gaining control of your thoughts, but also changing them so that you are able to back your desires with your mind.
I have been meaning to write up an "article" about mental exercise, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. But if you ever want to talk about it, I am all ears!
Best to you Cym.
Until that is accomplished, it will always be a battle of, "man, is it really worth it." Or, "should I just take a break today."
It is understandable.
It seems like you are getting the best of it though. 1 day per month you say, sheesh, that is nothing. I even have those days.
Lyle is right, lean people who dieted down from a fatter spot are not the same as naturally lean people. Unfortunately.
Same goes for me though. I am naturally a "skinny bastard." Disgustingly skinny IMO when it comes to being an adult male. However, I relentlessly attacked what I did not like about my physical appearance until it changed.
Most don't have that kind of internal drive. I probably wouldn't have either if I did not grow up surrounded by health, activity, sports, etc. Our brains are wild pieces of machinery. Let them go, uncontrolled, for a long enough time and all of a sudden, you've got a lot of weeds growing in the garden, if you know what I mean.
I am currently helping my cousin, God love her. There are 6 of us who grew up together. She was always the fat one. Always. She is now 28 yrs old. For 27 years, her mind was cultivated to act as "the fat one." That is a lot of freaking cultivating!!!
And I am sure you know what I mean.
Being "the fat one" means for her, and many others I have helped:
a) exercise is not for me, nor is it fun
b) who cares if I eat poorly, I am already fat
c) even if I try to lose weight, it is just going to come back on
d) this is my body, like it or not, fat forever
And the list can go through many alphabets! These are just words here in this post, but a, b, c, d, and so on..... these are all absolute beliefs that are carved in stone in your subconscious mind.
For my cousin, I trained her perfectly. Went to the gym with her, showed her every single step that she should take. Exactly how to eat. When to eat, when to exercise, what not to do. I typed up program after program for her with explicit instructions. I made her tell me when she was unsure or unhappy with things, and we would adapt. Still, with so much attention to detail and adapting, she only adhered to the program probably 50% of the time. I could not force her to take action, nor would I.
Finally, I stopped what I was doing and started working on her thought patterns. As soon as we started focusing on that, there was an immediate increase in adherence. And it has improved to the point where she can honestly call this her lifestyle now. She lives and breathes it, not because she feels the need to, but rather, because she wants to. She started at 275, she is now 175ish. However, she looks freaking awesome.
Changing the carvings that have been repetitively carved in your mind since birth is extremely difficult. More difficult, I would say, than anything else related to making this change. Diet, EASY! Running, A CINCH! Lifting weight, SIMPLE! These things are easy relative to not only gaining control of your thoughts, but also changing them so that you are able to back your desires with your mind.
I have been meaning to write up an "article" about mental exercise, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. But if you ever want to talk about it, I am all ears!
Best to you Cym.
Until that is accomplished, it will always be a battle of, "man, is it really worth it." Or, "should I just take a break today."
It is understandable.
It seems like you are getting the best of it though. 1 day per month you say, sheesh, that is nothing. I even have those days.
said 3 days out of 4.
