Self-control

Archive for the ‘self-control’ Category

Promises We Make About Weight Loss to Ourselves

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008

How many promises do you make to yourself while on a diet that you never fulfill? Like the way I wrote posts this month. I promised myself I would get a post written twice a week at least. I even have the subjects outlined. But, like when I eat off program and then promise myself it will be better next week, that I will quit cheating tomorrow, I didn’t.

This spring I have been going to my weekly check-ins and answering the same questions with the same answers for months. I know that I am not going to do what I say I will. And who are these ‘promises’ made to? To me. I am the one who will or won’t do it. I am the one who is effected by it. Not the lady I am talking to. Her life will go on the same – and unfortunately, so will mine. If I don’t even make an effort to change my habits, I won’t lose weight and I won’t get healthier.

The biggest damage I did by these meaningless promises was to enforce the feeling that I would not succeed. Not because I couldn’t, but because I wouldn’t. I fell back into the old trap of looking down on myself. I did manage to not beat myself up by calling myself names. However, I did drive myself into discouragement and the ‘whats the use’ state using my broken promises as the example.

I have been expressing this as my experience. I know it is not just mine. I know many of us do the same thing. I also know that part of the reason it happened is I only had 5-6 hours of sleep a night, worked 40 hours a week, and helped with my grand-kids everyday. Then I tried to watch some recorded TV shows and work online. In short, I was burning the candle at both ends.

This week I have written down everything I did, including ME time. I have written down everything I ate and drank. I have not been perfect, but I do see I did attempt to fulfill my goals for the week. I can take encouragement in my accomplishments. I can say that I attempted to meet my promises instead of ignoring them.

Please realize that if you are 80-100 pounds heavier than your healthy weight and it is not caused by a medical condition, you have issues which are more than just over eating. You have what some people call emotional problems, but actually comes down to self-image and self-worth.

What self-made stumbling blocks do you face in your weight loss journey?

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Tags: broken promises, Burning The Candle At Both Ends, Cheating, diet, Discouragement, Encouragement, health, Hours Of Sleep, Lose Weight, Sleep, stumbling blocks, Weight Loss
Posted in Weight Loss, Weight Management, awareness, diet, emotional eating, self-control, self-image, self-worth | 1 Comment »

Touchstones for Weight Loss Part 1

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

: Image via Wikipedia

Do you know what a touchstone is? I thought I did. I thought that a touchstone was a smooth pebble, marble, or other small object that you carried to remind you of something – like a worry stone, or a cross in my pocket – So, I carry a cross in my pocket reminding no one but me – much like tying a string on your finger to remind you of something.

The dictionary says a touchstone is a black siliceous stone related to flint and formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak left on the stone when rubbed by the metal. Another source says it is a black siliceous stone used to ascertain the purity of gold and silver. Assaying by touch was one of the earliest methods employed to assess the quality of precious metals. Yet another source says it is a yardstick or an informal substitute for criterion and that a touchstone suggests a simple test of the authenticity or value of something intangible.

One thing common to all the articles I read, the touchstone evolved into a smooth polished stone, either a gem or regular pebble, in the shape of a flat oval, usually carried in one’s pocket. The touchstone is used as a reminder of something that indicates a standard or criteria.

How do touchstones pertain to weight loss?

I will start the answer to this with another question: Why do you deviate from your eating program or diet?

For me it is forgetting that I am on an eating program or diet; forgetting that I have a goal to lose weight and become healthier. It is forgetting that I desire to reach my goal. It is forgetting to pay attention to what I eat while I am eating it.

I have four touchstones that I have to carry in my pocket. I will tell you about one of them today. This one is to remind me and make me accountable to myself to live up to:

I deserve to be healthier and slimmer.
My weight loss and exercise to better health is my priority.
If I do not take care of myself first, I can not take care of others.
If I were at the bottom of a swimming pool, I would not stop half way up for a rest, I would struggle up to the surface to get a breath which would be obtaining my goal.

Would this help you obtain your goal? You can use any small object as a touchstone – a cat’s eye marble perhaps, a different color for each touchstone. Or name the touchstone – maybe priorities. There is a site online where you can order touchstones engraved with whatever word you wish. Or find a smooth stone and write a letter on the stone with a permanent marker such as P for priorities.

What other touchstones would help you? Remember, it is a standard to help you make choices which help you reach your goal.

Read the rest of this series to learn about the touchstones M A G I C H E L P.