I think we have all been here, 'starting again', 'getting back on plan' or however you say that you are ready to commit to a new plan. Because that's just it, you need to be ready to commit. I have successfully lost 5 stone previously on a rival weight loss programme but it took me 3 years...and a year to put it all back on.
Now I can make up all the excuses under the sun. My divorce, new relationship, new job, new city, 2 miscarriages but it all comes down to the same thing...I ate my emotions. I have done this for years. And it's a habit that I want to semi-break. Now I say 'semi-break' because I want to have a good relationship with food, I want to enjoy my meals and feel a sense of satisfaction from eating them, but that is where I want the emotional connection to end. Yes, it's ok to enjoy food, it's ok to feel good when you're enjoying a meal that you have slaved over but it's not going to make me happy when I'm having a 'down day'.
The truth it, we all have down days. Yesterday was one for me, I couldn't be bothered to do anything, couldn't be bothered to get dressed so I didn't. I allowed myself that day of feeling miserable, I enjoyed staying in my pjs all day (in fact, I spent 2 days in them!). But that was where it ended. I cooked some beautiful meals and thoroughly enjoyed them but I was careful not to allow them to distract from how I was feeling. I am now getting back on the wagon.
I've lived in my new city for 18 months now. In that time, I think I have joined Slimming World about 5 times, and a rival weight loss programme 3 times. I'm a yo yo dieter, but that's ok. I watched an interesting documentary with Dr Christian who looked at the most successful diets. What he found was that, in fact, they all worked. Each and every one of them worked. The reason for them then seeming to fail, was a lack of motivation and will power. He then looked at what would work best to keep the motivation and will power going. Turns out, it's money!
In his experiment, he had 2 people of similar weights each putting money on the table. Whoever lost the most in a set amount of time, would win the cash and spend it on something that the 'loser' deemed irresponsible and stupid. In the episode I watched, a GP put £500 down, her competitor put £100 down. The GP wanted to spend the money on a race day experience and her competitor would use the cash to install an outside toilet (they lived off the land!). The GP won. She worked hard because she didn't want her money to disappear to something that she deemed an 'unworthy cause'.
In light of this, I have roped in my fiancé, my mum and brother who are all in a race to lose 3 stone (20kgs) by 24th December 2019. The bet? £50 cash. If you hit the target, you get your money back. If you don't hit it, you hand over the cash. Whoever has hit target, splits the cash amongst any other winners. If no one hits their target, the money gets donated to a charitable cause.
Now I can make up all the excuses under the sun. My divorce, new relationship, new job, new city, 2 miscarriages but it all comes down to the same thing...I ate my emotions. I have done this for years. And it's a habit that I want to semi-break. Now I say 'semi-break' because I want to have a good relationship with food, I want to enjoy my meals and feel a sense of satisfaction from eating them, but that is where I want the emotional connection to end. Yes, it's ok to enjoy food, it's ok to feel good when you're enjoying a meal that you have slaved over but it's not going to make me happy when I'm having a 'down day'.
The truth it, we all have down days. Yesterday was one for me, I couldn't be bothered to do anything, couldn't be bothered to get dressed so I didn't. I allowed myself that day of feeling miserable, I enjoyed staying in my pjs all day (in fact, I spent 2 days in them!). But that was where it ended. I cooked some beautiful meals and thoroughly enjoyed them but I was careful not to allow them to distract from how I was feeling. I am now getting back on the wagon.
I've lived in my new city for 18 months now. In that time, I think I have joined Slimming World about 5 times, and a rival weight loss programme 3 times. I'm a yo yo dieter, but that's ok. I watched an interesting documentary with Dr Christian who looked at the most successful diets. What he found was that, in fact, they all worked. Each and every one of them worked. The reason for them then seeming to fail, was a lack of motivation and will power. He then looked at what would work best to keep the motivation and will power going. Turns out, it's money!
In his experiment, he had 2 people of similar weights each putting money on the table. Whoever lost the most in a set amount of time, would win the cash and spend it on something that the 'loser' deemed irresponsible and stupid. In the episode I watched, a GP put £500 down, her competitor put £100 down. The GP wanted to spend the money on a race day experience and her competitor would use the cash to install an outside toilet (they lived off the land!). The GP won. She worked hard because she didn't want her money to disappear to something that she deemed an 'unworthy cause'.
In light of this, I have roped in my fiancé, my mum and brother who are all in a race to lose 3 stone (20kgs) by 24th December 2019. The bet? £50 cash. If you hit the target, you get your money back. If you don't hit it, you hand over the cash. Whoever has hit target, splits the cash amongst any other winners. If no one hits their target, the money gets donated to a charitable cause.
