One of my tried-and-true tricks for helping myself refocus when I need a reminder of why losing weight is THE priority, is to watch some of the videos that helped positively reinforce my mindset at the very beginning. I've mentioned this before in specific reference to the British series "Fat Doctor" and the role it played in shaping my work early on. (I still recommend that one, particularly the episode I've linked to in my 12/1/15 entry.) My current rut is the first time I've gained back a great deal of weight, and it feels the worst because of the milestone(s) I undid by allowing that to happen. So, I've been doing a lot of self-cheerleading to recreate my positive attitude and remind myself that I've done it before, therefore, I can do it again.
Several weeks ago, I discovered a series of documentary-style videos by the University of California called The Skinny on Obesity. I watched the whole set in the dead of winter when it was hard to convince myself that going outside was really necessary, and the motivation I go tout of it was enough to last me a few weeks. Not only was it interesting and informative, but it was presented in a very clear and matter-of-fact way that was easy to follow. I learned a lot from these videos and have already returned to them many times for more inspiration and education. Altogether, the entire suite takes just about an hour to watch, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. However, if I had to recommend only one video, it would be this one. More than anything I've ever read, watched, or heard, this presents information in such a clear way that it made me feel like I understand food at a basic level for the first time in all of my years on Earth. Watching this video in particular, it was like a series of light bulbs going off. Just eye-opening stuff.
Soooo, partially in thanks to the lessons these shorts have re-taught me, I'm on a vegetarian diet this week. I've done this a few times since beginning my mission over a year ago, and it's consistently yielded good results. I'm not totally after just a drop on the scale this time, though; I'm in a position where I actually need to re-detox -- which I remember the symptoms of and can feel happening -- and reset the way I think about and consume food. My plan of attack in the gym this week is light: just arm weights and maybe a mile here or there on the elliptical if the mood takes me, or in the unlikely event that I don't make my steps on a given day. Next week, I intend to ramp it up.
One reason I'm letting myself off the hook physically because I don't want to overwhelm myself with so many readjustments that I'm setting myself up for further frustrations when I fall short, which is bound to happen when you try to change every single thing in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, though, the self-hook-letting-off is primarily out of responsibility: I have a knee injury. I say that without knowing what it actually is; I just know I have some occasional shooting pain and there's a lot of cracking and sustained soreness going on. I want to get below the lowest weight I had hit and see if that's enough to alleviate it, but without overexerting it in the process. So, elliptical only so it doesn't put too much pressure on my joints, and not until next week once I've got the food part on lock. Also, I'm in a really shitty mood this week, so it's just not the time to be forcing myself into stuff I know I'll be too petulant to actually do, which will only create disappointment in myself. (Ahh, self-awareness.)
Something that was reinforced to me through this whole lost month I just had is that all the pieces I had delicately set up to keep myself on track are very important. It's not just the big, obvious parts, like meal planning and working out; it's also the small forms of positive reinforcement through podcasts, articles, videos, and writing in this blog. It all matters, so it all needs to happen. Lesson re-learned.
On that note, I hope you'll watch the videos I plugged and find some motivation in them for yourself. If nothing else, the educational value is incredible, so share far and wide!