A couple of months ago, I said that I was in the honeymoon phase of my diet. I was just so excited about all the progress I was making, and found the changes I had made so simple and obvious that I couldn't even imagine a time when I would find it difficult.
Yeah, so that's not the case any more.
Now I'm to the most dangerous point of an attempt at a lifestyle change. I haven't been doing this long enough that it is natural to me, but long enough that I'm bored with it. Plus I have reached the point where I can't rely on having spectacular progress reports to cheer me up every half a week. I will get through this. I just need to square my shoulders and work my way through.
The Abs Diet warns you to explain to loved ones that when you restrict calories and get into an exercise routine you will likely experience random mood swings for a while. When I was on the abs diet approach in 2005, I did experience that. This time I thought I had avoided the problem, because I was just so upbeat for the first several weeks. But this past week I've been all over the place. I've been really depressed for no reason, I've been optimistic, I've been angry and discouraged. I think the excitement of losing weight so quickly this time blocked the emotional impact of the restricted diet and now that's wearing off.
Or maybe its completely unrelated, who knows.
Anyway, here's hoping that another 10 weeks finds me to the point where all of this comes more naturally, and has become a habit rather than an effort.
On the bright side, I jogged 1.1 miles yesterday, averaging 4.6 miles/hour. If I get in at least .8 miles today I'll make 25 miles total walked or jogged for the month. No idea if I'll be able to keep up the pace next month since I'm limited to the treadmills/track at the gym, and since November is a day shorter, but I'll give it my best shot.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I definately understand where you're coming from in this entry! I had 10 weeks of great weight loss, and I know it's not going to be like that all the time. It's easy to be excited and upbeat in the beginning b/c that's when the changes seem to happen rapidly. Hopefully over time, this will be something that we enjoy & become more comfortable with!
This next phase is the hardest, especially with the holidays coming up. I know its easy to get frustrated because the darn scale isn't moving but 10 weeks ago you weren't jogging 1.1 miles. You hold tight to the fabulous progress you've made physically! You only need take one look at the before photo and see the results of 10 weeks. This is where so many people quit and give up. This is where I've quit and given up so many times. Don't wake up 40 years old wishing you had done it back in 2007/2008. You are worth so much more than that.
Hi! I found your blog through "John is Fit". I wanted to encourage you to just keep going. Tell yourseld that you are making a life change and you can quit life so you can't quit this.
I think what you're experiencing is pretty normal. I wrote a while back about "willpower" and what a myth it is here.
http://sarahsweightlossjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/dirty-liarmouth.html
I think if you read that you'll definatly see that you are not alone in feeling this way.
Like I said, just keep going. If you have a bad day or a bad week you didn't undo all of your efforts up until that point. Weight loss is a compilation of your overall efforts, not just what happened in one bad meal or a huge horrible snack or even one really down week. You just pick yourself up and start again, right that very moment.
I'm glad I've found you. I'll be keeping up with your progress!
Mike this is the painful part. I went through the same thing after about 2 months in OA. Everything just got harder, and I just thought returning to my old eating would make everything better. I even tried that for a day or so, but it was to painful. You know to much now, going back to what you were doing 10 weeks ago won't work for you now. You're a new man, don't give up. Fight for your life.
Whoops forgot the encouraging part. This get easier. It starts to feel more "normal" and less "exciting." Each day you push through this tough part you gain something mentally. You might now feel it right away. When you get it, nothing can take it away.
You are doing SO well. Unbelievably well and you should be very proud of yourself Mike.
Like the others have said, it's normal that the weight loss doesn't continue at the same speed as it did in the beginning. But it will continue and you will continue to see lower numbers on the scale.
When you feel down/depressed/discouraged etc, just try to remind yourself of your success so far. Go get an old pair of jeans that now falls of your hips without even opening it! and be proud. Remind yourself how far you have come in terms of fitness! You blow my mind Mike. Be proud.
Post a Comment