sooz
06-22-03, 09:13 PM
I got the following in my email today...from someone who was just coming off a binge..she found the following article and thought it helpful, and so do i....if you have been binging or have had a gain or have been off track, maybe it can help you also:
**************************
I was over at Dotties reading messages and came across this written by
Sherincanada. She hit it right on the nail for me.
Don’t Confuse Disappointment with Disaster
Just as we experience many joys as we travel down the road to better
health, we also face some disappointments in our weight-loss journey.
Perhaps we overate and are disappointed in our behavior. Perhaps during
weigh-in we maintained or showed a gain and we are disappointed in the
results. Perhaps we can't get motivated to exercise and we are
disappointed in our lack of effort.
To think we will do this program without encountering some low points
along the way is unrealistic. However, those unrealistic expectations
are what cause many to quit before they reach their ultimate goal. We
know we cannot walk the tightrope without falling off a time or two -
yet we still demand that perfection of ourselves. We set ourselves up
for failure because it's an easy way out.
Don’t confuse disappointment with disaster.
Stop thinking every minor setback is a reason to quit. A gain is not a
reason to quit.
“Just a two-pound loss” this week is not reason to quit. Missing your
goal this week by
5 or .5 pounds is not reason to quit. Binging for an hour, a day, a week
or a month is
not reason to quit.
These are not disasters within themselves - but quitting because of
these reasons is
disastrous. How are you ever going to get healthier and fit by stopping?
Halfway
following your weight-loss program is better than not at all. And,
always remember,
you can always, ALWAYS get back on track as quick as you got off of it.
Just stop
what you are doing and replace negative behaviors with positive ones.
Take control of
yourself.
When you are faced with disappointment, just know it will all work out
in the end if
you keep your eye on your goal and your body moving forward. Success
will
ultimately come if you just keep pushing. You have to want this more
than anything
else.
When you are faced with disappointment, you first have to address it.
Yes, it is
frustrating. Yes, it can be hurtful. Yes, it makes you feel like
quitting sometimes. Don't
bottle up your emotions or try to push them to the back of your mind in
hopes you are
hiding them. Feel them. Explore why you are disappointed. Talk it out
with yourself
and with anyone else you feel comfortable sharing with.
Once you have brought your disappointment into the light, you will see
it is not as
intimidating as it was in the dark corners of your mind. You will see
you CAN
overcome it - it's not bigger than your desire to succeed. Yes, it is
very real but it is not
as disastrous as you imagined it to be.
After you have addressed your feelings, then work toward a solution to
overcome the
disappointment. If you binged, figure out how to avoid another one. What
triggered
you? If you gained, figure out what might have caused it. If it is an
unexplained gain,
just strengthen yourself mentally to realize you need non-scale
victories to show
progress until the scale catches up with your good habits.
Don’t confuse disappointment with disaster.
Be prepared for the bumps in the road and be flexible enough to deal
with them. Take
time for yourself - feel the disappointment and then move on to bigger
and better
things. Just remember, the only disaster would be if you gave up on
something that
holds so much promise of happiness and health for you.
Mental exercise for the day:
Identify some past disappointments you've had. Did you work through them
and come
out a better person, or did you throw in the towel and quit? How can you
better deal
with the disappointments that are sure to come in your weight-loss
journey?
Be sure to remember the good when dealing with the bad. Make a list of
all the
positives you have encountered in your journey. It will help keep it all
in perspective.
Sherry (In Canada)
76.6 lbs down!
**************************
I was over at Dotties reading messages and came across this written by
Sherincanada. She hit it right on the nail for me.
Don’t Confuse Disappointment with Disaster
Just as we experience many joys as we travel down the road to better
health, we also face some disappointments in our weight-loss journey.
Perhaps we overate and are disappointed in our behavior. Perhaps during
weigh-in we maintained or showed a gain and we are disappointed in the
results. Perhaps we can't get motivated to exercise and we are
disappointed in our lack of effort.
To think we will do this program without encountering some low points
along the way is unrealistic. However, those unrealistic expectations
are what cause many to quit before they reach their ultimate goal. We
know we cannot walk the tightrope without falling off a time or two -
yet we still demand that perfection of ourselves. We set ourselves up
for failure because it's an easy way out.
Don’t confuse disappointment with disaster.
Stop thinking every minor setback is a reason to quit. A gain is not a
reason to quit.
“Just a two-pound loss” this week is not reason to quit. Missing your
goal this week by
5 or .5 pounds is not reason to quit. Binging for an hour, a day, a week
or a month is
not reason to quit.
These are not disasters within themselves - but quitting because of
these reasons is
disastrous. How are you ever going to get healthier and fit by stopping?
Halfway
following your weight-loss program is better than not at all. And,
always remember,
you can always, ALWAYS get back on track as quick as you got off of it.
Just stop
what you are doing and replace negative behaviors with positive ones.
Take control of
yourself.
When you are faced with disappointment, just know it will all work out
in the end if
you keep your eye on your goal and your body moving forward. Success
will
ultimately come if you just keep pushing. You have to want this more
than anything
else.
When you are faced with disappointment, you first have to address it.
Yes, it is
frustrating. Yes, it can be hurtful. Yes, it makes you feel like
quitting sometimes. Don't
bottle up your emotions or try to push them to the back of your mind in
hopes you are
hiding them. Feel them. Explore why you are disappointed. Talk it out
with yourself
and with anyone else you feel comfortable sharing with.
Once you have brought your disappointment into the light, you will see
it is not as
intimidating as it was in the dark corners of your mind. You will see
you CAN
overcome it - it's not bigger than your desire to succeed. Yes, it is
very real but it is not
as disastrous as you imagined it to be.
After you have addressed your feelings, then work toward a solution to
overcome the
disappointment. If you binged, figure out how to avoid another one. What
triggered
you? If you gained, figure out what might have caused it. If it is an
unexplained gain,
just strengthen yourself mentally to realize you need non-scale
victories to show
progress until the scale catches up with your good habits.
Don’t confuse disappointment with disaster.
Be prepared for the bumps in the road and be flexible enough to deal
with them. Take
time for yourself - feel the disappointment and then move on to bigger
and better
things. Just remember, the only disaster would be if you gave up on
something that
holds so much promise of happiness and health for you.
Mental exercise for the day:
Identify some past disappointments you've had. Did you work through them
and come
out a better person, or did you throw in the towel and quit? How can you
better deal
with the disappointments that are sure to come in your weight-loss
journey?
Be sure to remember the good when dealing with the bad. Make a list of
all the
positives you have encountered in your journey. It will help keep it all
in perspective.
Sherry (In Canada)
76.6 lbs down!