Reprogramming Your Mind To Gain Results
Weigh Day #35
Sunday, 7 July 2024
Reprogramming your mind to gain results is critical whence ploughing through a sticky patch. England are playing pretty poorly at the Euros, but somehow grinding results! Equipping yourself through challenge after challenge is fundamental to gaining long-term results. This will not happen overnight, but you can change your way for the better through the power of the mind.
Weight – 117.5 Kilos, 18.61 Stone, 259.05 Pounds
Weekly Weight Loss – 0.7 kilos, 1.54 pounds
Total Weight Loss – 20.2 Kilos, 3.18 Stone, 44.5 Pounds
Song Of The Week
After the tremendous gig at Co-op Live, Pearl Jam dominated my listening. So, it is only fitting to share another cracker from the current album, Dark Matter.
Weekly Summary
Weigh Day #35
Finding yourself at a crossroads is perfectly normal. Whilst weight loss is always welcome, feelings of fatness and frumpiness have taken over. Maybe this is the brain explaining how far there is to go? Last weekend was a bad weekend. A lot of alcohol was consumed as England snuck by Slovakia in the Euros. However, strangely, normal eating resumed on Sunday. Gave up counting by Wednesday but managed to get through the week. It was a strange seven days, but ground out results like a certain football head coach!
Yesterday was the worst gorging day in quite some time. But, there was no alcohol, which, considering England was playing, was nothing short of a miracle. However, alcohol was substituted with food… a lot of food. Aside from many snacks, there were desserts and chocolate. Not consumed milk chocolate in a heck of a long time! The reality is there was eating going on like a hangover was suffered with no hangover. Very bizarre! Ten whole hours of overnight sleep left me feeling like I’d been drinking all day when awakening. Work that motherfunker out!
GARETH SOUTHGATE IN DISGUISE!!!
Grinding Out Results!
England managed to squeeze past Switzerland in the Euros last night, winning on penalties. Comparing situations in life to football is great. Go on, give it a go! Like Sir in the making, Gareth, there is a pleasant surprise to get a good result. You get weeks like this, achievement in the face of adversity. Not losing massive amounts, but enough for ‘er indoors to tell me I’m looking slim even if it isn’t felt within!
It’s getting through these kinds of situations that are critical to success. Summer can always be tricky. There is a holiday (Turkey next month) to look forward to and a warmer climate (although you wouldn’t think that in the UK this summer!). Dieting is usually tough, but I always struggle more in summer. I’ve been scratching my head in disbelief at how Southgate is rallying his troops and scraping through every match, similar to how I’m just about managing to shift small units of weight! Life’s like that sometimes! Keeping going is the important thing!
Using Your Mind To Great Effect
Of course, anyone who is overweight is weak when it comes to food. We cannot help ourselves gorging in front of the telly, taking our eye off the ball, and not keeping tabs on our weight. It’s frustrating how easy it is to let yourself go. On the other hand, your fate is in your destiny. It’s totally up to you to decide which way to go. Develop a stronger mindset, and half the battle is one. Everything else falls into place easier, and you will feel much better.
What’s Changed?
I’m certainly very different from the one who started this journey. Still, falling down the same traps and getting snared into the same pitfalls that the overweight succumb to. Sometimes, like yesterday, there is simply no fucks as to what is being consumed, bordering on bulimia and eating disorders. It is not good, but I accept this as part of who I am. Couldn’t stop eating as the day progressed. It’s very unusual for me to turn to chocolate, though. That’s ok, too, because shit happens.
I concluded that I’ve developed a stronger mindset. This is undoubtedly the way forward. You have no chance of losing weight long-term until you reprogram your mind to gain results and must accept there will be bad days, weeks, and months. You’re more likely to fail if you resign to short-term goals, diet fads and food restrictions.
Reprogramming Your Mind To Gain Results
Any desire to lose weight must come from within. You can purchase plans, read blogs, make healthy recipes, and do all the research you like, but you are doomed to fail if your heart and mind are not in it. Until your own personal reprogramming is complete, you may as well give up and stay fat. Give yourself some tough love. Be harsh and critical of yourself. The worse you are with yourself, the more likely you will spur yourself on to success.
Once you possess the right attitude, you will find exercising your mind to gain results easier. You won’t beat yourself up so much when things go wrong. You will handle those disappointing weigh-ins a lot better. Brushing the dust off your shoulder will become natural.
Stay Positive!
I sit typing on a dour Sunday Manchester morning, feeling the ill effects of overeating but still positive because I always feel positive about my long-term chances of getting where I want to be. I’d never given much thought to how much stronger I am. I have many weak days. I still recklessly neck alcohol sometimes. I’ll always eat foods I shouldn’t. This has effects, but I’ve reprogrammed myself to the extent that none matters because my mind has been exercised to know there will be situations where it doesn’t work out how it’s planned. And if your mind says eat stupid like I did yesterday, I’ve found the best solution is to do what I’m told! It’s pointless having a civil war in your head. Sometimes, you gotta go with the flow.
Your Mind Is King!
That’s not suggesting it’s perfect because it isn’t! But using your mind to its greatest strengths becomes critical in losing weight. You must remember how weak it can be and realise there are times you must go with the flow. Nobody is perfect every day, and you must learn to make allowances when things don’t go as planned.
Of course, the easy option is to give up and stay fat, but nobody wants to fail. Hiccups are fine and to be expected! You find that you consistently and regularly reprogram your mind to gain results.
How To Reprogram?
This is one of the many million-dollar questions posed on this blog. You need to start thinking about long-term goals but don’t make any promises to yourself. We often fail because we put too much pressure on ourselves. Been there, done that! And the easy option remains to give up. Take small steps. When you start out, you are over-enthusiastic and really good most days, and you get some short-term results, which is marvellous and the spring step you need. But, over time, that initial enthusiasm wanes, which is where you need to be strong.
Do plenty of homework and research. There’s so much out there in internet land, but forge your own path to weight loss. Find out what works and learn not to beat yourself up when things go wrong. Realise that you have to go with the flow, and there you have to step things up. You will be weak in places and strong in others. Toughen yourself up for a rocky road with many falls, and stay realistic in your goals. We often want more than what is achievable; that is natural, so we must bring ourselves down a peg or two! Whilst your mind is your best friend, it can be your worst enemy. Learn to live with cravings, bad days and overindulgence.
Get it into your head; it doesn’t matter how long it takes. A healthier you is a happier you.
The Week Ahead
I let myself go last week, but like Southgate’s team, I did just about enough to get over the line. However, I know I cannot continue like this in the long term. Four days without counting consumption? This is unheard of for me these days. I’ll get through today and start a new approach tomorrow.
I didn’t eat too many bad foods yesterday, which helps enormously, but I’m not feeling as good as I did a few months ago. Why is this? It’s hard to answer, but yesterday’s indulgence gave me a timely reminder that spending the whole day eating bad foods will destroy any long-term aspirations. I feel dreadful as I type! Reprogramming your mind to gain results is ongoing and subject to change. I have a rather cunning plan for next week.
Intermittent Fasting Again?
What caused my downfall last week was late-night eating. And there was much snacking in front of the telly after work. So, I have been thinking about change and trying intermittent fasting again. This time, given my working hours (2-10 PM), between the hours of 3 and 11 PM. It might work, but as I always stipulate, you must try new things. I know intermittent fasting works, but I never give it a decent go. I will be changing things and remain determined to implement change, as nobody wants to be stuck in a rut for too long. Watch this space!
