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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 1, 2015 13:17:59 GMT
This post came across my Facebook feed this morning. The man who posted is a college professor I have known for about 20 years. He is an active participant in the YMCA where I worked for many years. What he has to say here is pretty brilliant. We talk so much here at 2Peas about weight loss and fitness. I believe the way he frames this idea might be helpful to some of us.
His post:
Thinking about weight loss and exercise -- saw a Twitter post "five lbs down, 15 to go." I bet that person will achieve the goal. And, my guess is that they will have the same goal in about three to six months. I lost the same 30 or 40 pounds a lot of times in my life.
Most diets work, for the loss; not for long run.The past few years I have sort of changed the way I manage weight. In other words I wrote a goal to 'live life as a 180 pounder.' I did that when I weighed 220; several years ago. The past few years I have actually been around that weight; it took time. It took the mind re-framing the situation, going into a new way of thinking that resulted in new life actions. And, the more I look at this re framing-strategy the more neuroscience I am finding to back up the theories.
The idea is using the power in the mind to understand what it takes to be a 180 pounder. What does a person who weighs 180 do? What do they eat; how much do they eat; how much exercise to maintain that weight; etc. This process eliminated the idea of diet replacing it with lifestyle. No diet means no deprivation (at least in the thinking). And, the mind can be powerful. Now, do I eat what I want - Not very often. Do I workout a lot - yeah, pretty often. Eating less, eating differently, exercising a good bit are what 180 pounders (who would be comfortable 220 pounders) do. You can diet and you can lose the weight and you can do that over and over again -- or you can choose the lifestyle to maintain your goal.
Your mind power is free for the using - at any age. I am sorry for taking so much space in the news feed. This should have been a blog post, not a facebook status but I think the idea includes more than just those of us over sixty.
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valleyview
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Jun 27, 2014 18:41:26 GMT
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Post by valleyview on Jul 1, 2015 14:35:12 GMT
Interesting, and in many ways correct. I have read in other places that one needs to research their target weight group and adopt that lifestyle. I read that people who successfully transgender benefit from coaches to teach the lifestyle change. Weight should be the same.
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Post by peasapie on Jul 1, 2015 14:47:28 GMT
I have a friend who maintains her weight within 5 lbs all the time. She is a huge believer in the fallacy of diets and the need to change eating and exercise habits on a permanent basis. And of course, who can argue with that? It just makes sense. But I can't eat like her. She goes to lunch and orders soup and that's it. Dinner - an appetizer rather than an entree.
The problem of course, is that so many of us have eating habits that are tied to our memories and our emotions. It's easier said than done to change those habits permanently because they are more than a simple habit. A lot of solace and pleasure comes from eating.
My weight has fluctuated by 20 lbs throughout most of my adult life. There is a point where I absolutely refuse to go over, and a low where I feel really happy with my clothes but missing desserts and the little extras. And as I've gotten older, it's so much harder to get to that lower weight point, even on my thyroid meds...
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Deleted
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May 18, 2024 15:10:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2015 15:07:26 GMT
That's a great post!
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 1, 2015 15:27:49 GMT
That's true... but he owns up to that in his post. If you keep the focus on "this is why I can't weigh what I want to" instead of focusing on what it's like to BE that weight, I think you help yourself fail. That's what appealed to me about his post -- the idea that you have to change your whole mindset and focus on the goal rather than the barriers.
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Post by anxiousmom on Jul 1, 2015 15:31:56 GMT
I have a friend who maintains her weight within 5 lbs all the time. She is a huge believer in the fallacy of diets and the need to change eating and exercise habits on a permanent basis. And of course, who can argue with that? It just makes sense. But I can't eat like her. She goes to lunch and orders soup and that's it. Dinner - an appetizer rather than an entree. My mom does this. Her weight hasn't changed hardly any over my entire lifetime. I teasingly say she eats like a bird, but the truth is, and what she will tell you is that she pretty much eats anything she wants. She just eats a boatload less of it than most people. She orders the appetizer and a small salad because it is closer to the portion size that suits her. I try to emulate her as much as I can. Once I started doing that, I lost of tons of weight. I am not as good as she is, and I prefer to order the entrees, but I have gotten really good at being able to eat only a portion of them (sometimes half, sometimes a third.) I also found that once I really started paying attention to portion sizes, I started feeling full a lot sooner than I did in the past. It works. It just takes work to do it. And, I do think it is an exercise in 'the power of the mind' to retrain yourself into a whole different way of thinking and living-not just a diet, which in and of itself implies a deprivation of some sort. I also think that in some ways it is similar to quitting drugs, drinking and smoking-a radical change in how we think about how we live our lives. |
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MorningPerson
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Post by MorningPerson on Jul 1, 2015 15:32:17 GMT
Thank you for posting this. I can see many issues where this change in mindset could be helpful, not just with weight control.
Live life as a well-organized, has-her-shit-together woman….
Live life as a loving and supportive wife...
Live life as a person who sets and achieves goals...
Your post has given me a lot to think about!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2015 15:32:10 GMT
That's true... but he owns up to that in his post. If you keep the focus on "this is why I can't weigh what I want to" instead of focusing on what it's like to BE that weight, I think you help yourself fail. That's what appealed to me about his post -- the idea that you have to change your whole mindset and focus on the goal rather than the barriers. I developed a similar mindset when I needed to lose weight after my first two babies were born... I didn't "diet" -- it wasn't a temporary measure to obtain a single goal. Instead, I told myself that this was for life, that I needed a healthy LIFE. I truly understand how discouraging it is to feel like weight loss isn't working, and what an insurmountable goal it is, because I've been there. |
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Post by breakfastattiffanys on Jul 1, 2015 17:40:41 GMT
I like what he had to say, it's from a whole different perspective, but it makes sense. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by not2peased on Jul 1, 2015 17:58:58 GMT
Very interesting-thanks for sharing. I am going to try it
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2015 18:43:45 GMT
I like that! I think that's a mindset that would work for me. I always seem to have external goals, e.g. fit in that dress for that wedding. I think that longer-term thinking is a much better goal.
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caro
Drama Llama
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Post by caro on Jul 1, 2015 18:52:24 GMT
This article makes sense. Another way is to slow down while eating.
I was at lunch today with my teacher friend and she ate so very fast but only half of her meal. We had the same thing but I ate slower and did eat the whole salad. She never eats as much as I do, thus she is a lot thinner than me. It's portion for her even though she eats fast. I need to eat slow and watch my portions.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Jul 1, 2015 18:53:27 GMT
I lost 80 pounds and I have kept it off for 4.5 years. I did what anxiousmom suggested and just ate half of what I normally would eat. I found it much easier than counting calories. But, with that said, I still am about 20 pounds overweight. While I would like to lose that 20 pounds, I feel a lot like peasapie and that it's a balancing act. I don't want to give up everything I love for a number on a scale. I feel like life is too rich not to indulge in things I love, including food. I don't always want to choose the salad. So, I have found that this is a very comfortable weight for me to maintain. Maybe I will eventually get sick of that 20 pounds and do something about it. For now, I would rather enjoy my life and keep exercising. |
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calgal08
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Post by calgal08 on Jul 1, 2015 19:32:47 GMT
I guess this is what I do on a daily basis. Many people tell me I'm lucky because I don't gain weight, which is not at all true. I gain weight just as quickly as everyone else, the only difference is I chose to not over indulge. Will I sometimes have an ice-cream or a cake - absolutely. I don't do it everyday though. For me, if I tell myself I'm on a diet then I'm automatically hungry all the time and I automatically feel I'm missing out on something. Instead I eat everything in moderation. I've been doing this for years and my weight is consistent within a couple of lbs.
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brandy327
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Post by brandy327 on Jul 1, 2015 19:38:22 GMT
I needed to read this today. Thanks for posting.  |
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Post by bc2ca on Jul 1, 2015 19:48:10 GMT
Thanks for sharing. Any diet-of-the day can get the weight off in the short term, but long term success does means adopting a healthy eating/exercise lifestyle and mindset.
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Post by peano on Jul 2, 2015 2:19:24 GMT
Thanks! I needed to read that today. |
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Olan
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Post by Olan on Jul 2, 2015 2:24:16 GMT
This was helpful to read today thanks for sharing!. I've had minor success using the mind trick (I wanted to say mind fuck but I am turning over a new leaf) of "I want a stronger more capable body" but thinking more concretely of what do people with strong bodies do might be the push I need to reach my goal.
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Post by SnoopyFan on Jul 2, 2015 2:32:26 GMT
Thanks! I needed to read that today. Yep! So did I! |
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Post by scrappyoutlaw on Jul 2, 2015 2:56:36 GMT
I'm scared of this very thing. I've been counting calories and "dieting" for two and a half months now and I've lost over 17lbs. I am almost to my goal, but I am unsure of how to proceed once I hit that goal. I know I still have to be disciplined, but I do want to be able to relax and enjoy the unhealthy foods now and then. I'm worried that it's going to be a fine line, I hope not. I hope I'm worrying for nothing!
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Post by peasapie on Jul 2, 2015 13:23:31 GMT
I'm scared of this very thing. I've been counting calories and "dieting" for two and a half months now and I've lost over 17lbs. I am almost to my goal, but I am unsure of how to proceed once I hit that goal. I know I still have to be disciplined, but I do want to be able to relax and enjoy the unhealthy foods now and then. I'm worried that it's going to be a fine line, I hope not. I hope I'm worrying for nothing! I think you are right to think about it in advance because that seems to be the hardest thing - the transition from losing the weight to maintaining the weight loss. This article comes at a good time for many of us. |
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