I can see it now, the first month has passed and I'm extremely pleased with my progress. Heck, I lost over 12 pounds in only 4 weeks, of course I'm pleased! But something is happening. I don't think about my goals as often - they fade to the background. Perhaps I've already experienced a setback and feel discouraged? Maybe training is not progressing as fast as I'd like? Whatever the case, my training and diet are not positioned prominently in the front of my mind as they were when I first began. Instead, they've receded to the back of my mind and only appear when the fragile habit I've been cultivating for the past four weeks reminds me it's time to train or it's time to drink yet another bland protein shake or, worse yet, eat more vegetables.
Motivation is beginning to wane. And I'm now vulnerable to temptation; vulnerable to my old eating habits and lazy desires. My shield of willpower is getting pierced and I need to do something. But what does one do?
Eventually, our mettle gets tested. Eventually, we will run into a wall and we'll begin to question ourselves; we'll question whether the depravity we're putting ourselves through is really worth it. Can we somehow force ourselves to envision our ultimate aim and gain motivation thereby? How do we stay on track?
Food will most likely be the greatest temptation. I know I hate to cook but I love to eat. And all the planning and effort that goes into daily meal preparations will grow old quick. The call of fast food will be deafening. Here I am, a confirmed hater of all things vegetable, and I'm forcing myself to "eat like a rabbit." Oh, how I long for a burger and milkshake; how I long for some traditional Spanish deserts. And yet my "meals" consist of a few ounces of (guess what?) grilled chicken breast and broccoli kept in small microwavable containers and enjoyed with tasty bottled water. This sucks!
Or, maybe, training will be the real temptation. Goodness! Exercise seems like torture sometimes. It's so much easier to sit on your ass and be entertained by television. I am the proverbial couch potato. Isn't it natural to conserve energy? Why, then, must we drag our asses into torture chambers (read: gyms) and put ourselves through hell?
Did it happen during a business trip? Did I finally convince myself that I'd be better off getting the extra sleep in preparation for tomorrow's important meeting instead of dragging myself to the hotel's shitty gym? Or did I succumb to the ease and convenience of indulgent room service and gorge myself on Crème brulée?
What will I do to prevent these scenarios? What do elite level athletes do when their training and diets are threatened by the natural impulse to indulge in things that make us feel good? Is their success simply attributed to keeping a steady routine? But don't we all lead such hectic, frenetic lives nowadays that make routines difficult to keep?
I know my goals and plans seem strict. I've designed them this way because I know that I'm the type who will "take a mile if given an inch." I'm simply an all-or-nothing kind of guy. Cheat meals? Forget it! It wouldn't take long before a cheat meal turns into an all-out junk food binge. Heck, I just made a trip to a local grocery store and spent $35 on junk food alone! Nothing else!
But I continue to wonder what I will need to do when I'm first confronted by temptation. Strict dieting and training for six months straight will not be easy. I'm beginning to worry...
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4 comments:
See here is one of the big problems - you are looking at what you are doing as a diet, that's why you're struggling so much.
EVERYONE has temptations, etc...BUT you need to stay strong and not call this a diet, realize this is a lifestyle change. If you treat it like a diet then in 6 months you'll hit your goal and in 8 months you'll be back to what you were before, plus some. Trust me, been there, done that many times over.
You really need to make sure the way you are eating is something you can do forever. We weren't given great bodies or fast metabolisms. We are getting older and making it more and more difficult to reach our goals, BUT WE CAN DO IT. We have to EARN our fast metabolism and EARN our leaness, and you know what, I'm ok with that, I love a good challenge.
So you have put in 1 month and lost 12 pounds (which is excellent!) and you are teetering with temptation. If you go back to how you were what do you get from that? You get only 1 thing and that's the feeling of satisfaction you get from eating sugary, fatty, greasy foods...and that satisfaction only lasts until you look in the mirror, or try on some clothes or look at the scale, then your next thought, shit, I need to go on a diet...and you are back to square one. Don't stop now. Keep at it, stay strong. In 6 months think of how you will look, how you will feel and remember eating like shit all the time and occasionally healthy is ass backwards - you need to eat healthy most the time and cheat on occasion - and in 6 months you will be able to do this without any recourse!
Stick with it, you can do this!
Matt, thanks for the encouragement, brother!
I was thinking to myself and trying to visualize what the next six months will be like. I am also drawing from past experiences. (Remember, I won't start my program until 1/5/09).
I've made so many attempts at weight loss that I began thinking about the things that have led to failure in the past and wonder what can be done to prevent them in the future.
I've noticed from old journals that things usually went into a tailspin as soon as I'd start playing "mix-and-match" with my workouts or my cravings and ruining my diet.
By mix-and-match, I mean the game some of us play where we agree to skip a workout one day as long as we promise ourselves we'll make it up some other day. Before you know it, you've scrambled your training week and you start missing workouts...it's all downhill from there.
I read a motivational book that claims you can't "blur the edges" of the things you are trying to achieve. That if you intend to train for 1.5 hours on Monday, then train for 1.5 hours on Monday, not for 1 hour and 29 minutes on Tuesday. This is discipline. And it's the only way goals can be achieved without compromising on them.
My concern is how does one maintain that kind of strict discipline day in and day out? How do you keep from failing? I want to be prepared for the obvious challenges that lay ahead...
BTW, I'm also struggling with whether to include HITT in my training. I've found that, especially when trying to lose a lot of weight, steady-state cardio gets better results. Burning 450 calories every day versus 150 calories on HITT makes a big difference. For me, HITT is a more advanced form of cardiovascular conditioning and may not be the best approach for fast, massive weight loss.
Pete,
I Have to agree its not a diet at all, your getting set to make a complete mental and physical change for the better.
I ordered the P90X program several months ago, my advise is simply be true to yourself, stick to form over quantity and master every move.
Make sure you do the fit test prior to starting, take the pics and measurements (even if you don't post them for anyone but yourself).
I've seen that you started a thread on the Message Boards and that's great.
Have you signed up for the Club, have you contacted your Coach? These are tools that can make so much of a difference in the success levels you will reach.
This program is an In Home System, that doesn't mean you have to do it alone. The support comes from people doing the program right there with you, and the ones who have walk the path before you.
I have such a hectic life with a full time job, a wife, 2 kids, all my hobbies and I still ended up signing up as an Independent Beachbody Coach simply to help people find the way past the hiccups I had to endure before I got my Coach and got the help I needed to just press play everyday.
Strength to You,
Gary aka Devildog0351
Thank you, Gary, for the encouragement.
I agree that this is a complete lifestyle change. I feel a little overwhelmed when I think about this, but I know that we can replace bad habits with good ones if we are focused and determined enough.
I am comitted to give this every ounce of effort I can muster. Failure is not an option.
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