head games and mental discipline...

[lavenderdiva]

What are you secrets? What do you do to keep yourself on track, especially when you have a large amount of weight to lose?

Sometimes, I will tell myself that I only have to lose 20lbs. Then when I lose that 20lbs, I have another 20lbs to lose. Were I to say you have to lose 90lbs altogether, I think I would be way too overwhelmed, and just shut down.

Do you use rewards when you reach a goal weight (even when its not your ultimate goal)? Do you have little mental tricks to goad yourself to staying on your program 'just one more day'?

I'd be interested in finding out if anyone has anything that has worked for them, and how you kept on track.

[lakemonster11]

1. I use record-keeping to keep myself on track.

I write down all of the food that I eat and all of the exercise I do on fitday.com. Because of my record-keeping I feel like my actual goal is to exercise most days of week and to keep my calorie-intake within a certain range---the weight loss that occurs seems more like the reward.

Just writing everything down is a great motivator. I want to be able to record that I went to the gym, so I go to the gym. I don't want to have to write down that I ate a bunch of chips, so I don't eat them. If nothing else, I have to think about how much I'm eating of each food so that I can accurately record it later. It makes it much more difficult to polish off a whole bag of trail mix when I'm paying attention.

As for actual weight-loss goals, I write down weekly goals in my day-planner. I weigh myself once a week, and if I reached my goal, I get to check it off. If I fail to lose any weight, but I followed my exercise and food plan, I try not to let it bother me---but I do have to reset all of my weekly goals.

[Cassandra]

2. I'm on Weight Watchers and I also write everything down.

I figure that my body will "write it down" even if I don't. I walk a lot but in manageable sections; an hour and a half one day, half an hour another day, two hours the third, etc. I have 100 pounds total to lose and I've lost 64.6 so far.
My women's group leader talks of one's little girl, or inner child, if you prefer. That's that voice that complains and wants and says losing weight doesn't really matter. I've spent a lot of time negotiating with her; asking her what she really wants, telling her that I'll work out how we are going to eat that food she wants but maybe later, having her notice how nice it feels to get up from the table satisfied but not really full. I give her chocolate every day but in smaller portions than I used to. Over the last year+ she's come to trust me more and calm down about wanting what she wants and wanting it now. I'm essentially re-parenting her and telling her the things I would have liked to hear as a little girl. I forgive myself immediately after eating something I think I shouldn't have; I don't waste my time beating myself up about it and eating more to make myself feel better (not saying you do this but many people do). I also notice that my little girl likes the feeling of stuffing her face once in a while, so I indulge that by sticking my face in a wedge of melon or corn on the cob or a soft low-fat ice cream swirl or ices and let her have the feeling of eating with abandon, which is safe because I've already controlled the content and amount of the portion.
My women's group leader has written a book where she talks about the little girl and how to work with her that you might find useful;
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0971854823/qid=1152452372/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-2521979-0790243?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
It doesn't really deal with weight loss but is useful for that and any number of things that are getting in your way.
I hope this has been useful.