Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

This is HARD. I’m at one of those points where I want to eat all the time. I don’t want to exercise. Heck, I don’t even want to get out of bed every day, but I really don’t have a choice in that matter. Eating healthy has become a chore.

It’s not always like this. Sometimes it’s EASY. I can’t remember how many times I’ve written in my personal journal the following phrase:

I ate healthy again today. It was totally easy and I didn’t even have to think about it. I wish it were always like this. I wish I could bottle up this feeling so I could use it on the days when it’s hard. I need to remember days like today when I get discouraged.

The last two weeks have been hard times. Ironically, going back and reading those happy journal entries when it was easy actually made it WORSE. Sometimes I get inspired by how excited I was, but mostly, it makes me angry that it’s hard right now.

How do I get past this?

When it’s hard, it only lasts for a few days (worst case lasts a couple of weeks), so I just need to hold on until I can get past these hard times. What do I do? Here are some of the techniques for holding on that work for me.

• Eat Low Carb: Firstly, I need to get my cravings under control and the easiest way to do that is to switch to a low carb diet. Still working within the framework of Weight Watchers, I choose to eat meat, cheese and vegetables. This has been the ABSOLUTE best way to kill the urge to binge.

• Visualize My Goal: I spend some time every day thinking about what I will look like and what my life will be like when I’m at my goal weight. This is incredibly hard to do when I’m not motivated, that’s why I set an appointment with myself every morning to do this when I’m feeling down in the dumps.

• Write In My Journal: Even though my journal entries sound like pathetic moaning, I write in my journal every day. It helps me muscle past the hard times.

• Make A New Commitment: It doesn’t matter what kind of commitment I make as long as I make one that I have to keep. I usually set up one day a week to workout with a friend. It gives me something to look forward to and it keeps me accountable to exercise. You could ask someone to review your food journal at the end of every day.

• Try Something New: I think most of my bad times are caused by BOREDOM. I have been eating the same thing for a few weeks. Sure it tastes good and it is perfect for losing weight, but I get sick of it and think that I can’t follow my program. Trying some new food that is healthy is a great way to break past that boredom. The same can be said for exercise. If the thought of working out sounds horrible to you, it might be that you’re sick of your workout routine. Try something new when you are exercising and you just might find that you can hold on for another day.

Let’s just be honest. THIS IS HARD! If it were easy, everyone would look like a supermodel. What you’re doing is difficult, but there are ways to muscle through the hard times. All you have to do is hold on for a few days and it will get easier again. These things come and go in waves, so you need to ride the dips and swells the best you can.