Hey all,
I posted this on Reddit, but thought it might be helpful to someone here. Enjoy!
As you can see, I'm a bit over halfway to my goal of losing 110 pounds. I was reflecting on what is working for me this time that I haven't had in the past (with few exceptions over the years, I've only ever stuck to an eating plan for a month or less before giving up), and I came upon this idea of the Warrior Mentality.
I first noticed this way of thinking when watching people post exercises they had done on the Diet Bet message boards. [I've been doing DB for six months and find them super motivational because I HATE TO LOSE, ha.] Here I am at 245 pounds and someone posts about running 5K in the morning, climbing 25 flights of stairs at work, and then coming home to do an hour on the elliptical after the kids went to bed that night. I'm thinking, "Yes! That person is killing it! I want to kill it like that! Roar!" That roar was my inner warrior wanting to kick some butt like these super exercisers did. So I started kicking my exercise plan into a much higher gear than I ever had before. I wasn't content with just walking 20 minutes on the treadmill anymore. I started doing some of those sweat-inducing home video programs that are all over nowadays. Roar!
Then I'm thinking about what so many of you call "discipline" instead of willpower. Yes, you could eat that cupcake, but screw that! Roar! I'm going to eat the carrot and enjoy that sucker! I will not let my weak-ol' body cravings beat me. Bring it on!
Of course, I don't always feel like a warrior, but a lot of the time, I do. I think that folks who are struggling need to try to develop that inner roar. When I feel too tired to drag my behind to the gym, I can envision Mel in Braveheart with his blue face paint charging towards the enemy. Roar! Pick up the car keys and do it already! Don't let your laziness or lack of energy win.
I hope this idea is helpful to some. My journey these last six months has been brutally hard. Eating right and exercising is tough for this gal who is essentially deeply lazy at her core. But in my case, making small sustainable changes hasn't worked overly well (though I grant it's a good way to go for many). My path has been to dig deep and go big. When I start to stall, I choose something bigger. Roar to you all.