How to stay focussed on your goal? (Weight).

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2006
Posts
11,362
Location
Derbyshire
Hi all.

Background:
In November 2013 I decided I was tired of being a single fatty, so I joined the gym with a friend.
I started with cardio, moving onto weights over time.

I have now changed gym and aside from a deep cut on my foot (never buy cheap towel racks - The crap plating falls off!) plan to go 4 times per week.
This new gym is better equipped, cheaper and can be walked to in 20 minutes.

I am still chubby but no longer obese on the BMI - I was circa 31 at the start and now 28. In that 28 though must be factored some muscle mass increase too.

My diet is a killer. My diet is now average rather than poor, but it is still letting me down by a mile.
I am the type of person who eats pretty much anything in the house, so the best way to tackle this is not to buy crisps, fizzy drinks etc.
I tend to eat out of boredom, habit, bad day at work, something to snack on whilst tea is cooking.....
I am not a good cook, but when I put my mind to something am OK at it, however living alone I rarely make proper cooked meals as I simply can't be bothered. Lots of tinned stuff, lots of wraps etc.
If I do cook a meal for 3-4 people with the idea of saving some for another day, I find myself nibbling at it later on.

I have a 10 year highschool reunion partys in 30 days time and feel I could do with ditching a few more pounds.

Question
How do I stay focussed? I make all sorts of promises to myself, which I quickly forget.
Willpower is golden and I am looking for pointers.
 
Last edited:
It's pretty simple really.

Either you want to do it, or you don't. If you want to do it then do it properly, otherwise you will not know what the results could have been if you had done it properly, not half heartedly.
 
Pick an example body type (google something like body fat % images or something) and work towards it over a certain time period. This way you have a goal rather than just being on an endless failing weight loss journey. Your main downfall is obviously your diet. Cut out 90% (allow yourself a treat once in a while) of the crap you are eating. You wont actually have to go to the gym as much if you just stop eating rubbish. I appreciate getting out of bad eating habbits can be hard.
 
A2Z said:
It's pretty simple really.

Either you want to do it, or you don't. If you want to do it then do it properly, otherwise you will not know what the results could have been if you had done it properly, not half heartedly.
Click to expand...

Ah but it's not... have you ever been there? I hope you haven't... but I'm not accusing you of not knowing what you're talking about - please don't think I am :)

You're right though, in a way... you either want to do it or you don't... the hard part is doing it properly and sticking with it until it becomes routine, and not doing it feels completely wrong.

I think you definitely (OP) need to do it properly - put everything into it. Force yourself to sort your diet out. Don't buy crap food to have in your house. Don't take change with you so vending machines can tempt you. Try not to have cash on you for similar reason at shops. It's a major ballache, but it does help.

Get some "fitness" type recipes - I can probably send you some... try them out. Experiment with cooking - enjoy food but don't let it ruin you. It IS possible... it's massively hard work at first... but it's so worth it.

BE BOTHERED - or nothing will change.
 
Well I know where I slipped up so I guess I can advise some things to avoid.

I set myself targets of getting my BMI under 30 and running 1.5 miles in under 11 mins (down from BMI 36 and 1.5 miles 14 minutes). I achieved them and then got lazy. 3 years on, BMI is 34 and I can only occasionally beat 12 minutes for a 1.5 mile run (and that's after a fair bit of recent work). I found the running time goal to be more of a motivation than the BMI, but the BMI came down as a consequence.

So I'd advise setting achievable targets but when you hit them set a new acheivable target and keep going. Get a friend to look out for you and encourage you in your goals - ideally work out together and if you have a target weight be open with them about your progress. If you find yourself slipping, set strict intervention targets and stick to them.

I told myself I'd never let myself slip back into the obese BMI category. Let that one slip. I told myself I wouldn't go above 17 stone again. Let that one slip. I told myself I'd keep the running time under 12 minutes. Let that one slip. Don't let it happen. Stick with eating and exercise habits that work for you. It's a lot easier to come back from a 3 lb slip up than a 3 stone one.
 
Last edited:
download an app like MyFitnessPal and log EVERYTHING you eat. walk at least 30min a day (doesn't have to be 30 consecutive minutes) and only drink water. no sodas, no booze.

for your workout, do not neglect heavy compound movements as they will require a lot of energy and therefore burn more calories. make sure you keep it varied and fun to keep yourself motivated.
try to buy a second hand exercise bike and set it in your living room in front of the TV. if you can, try to do at least 30min of fasted cardio in the morning (you can have a cuppa beforehand). whenever you watch something, try to spend at least 10min on the bike.

and finally, try to take pictures every two weeks. you might not thing you're making progress by just looking at the scale but once you've got a few pictures, you'll see that you are in fact making progress.

and don't worry too much about your BMI once you've started having proper workouts and nutrition as it doesn't take into account muscle mass. it's a good indicator for sedentary populations but it's not fault proof. (I'm 12% bodyfat and i've got a BMI of 28.6).

keep up the good work you've got this man ;)
 
Dieting shouldn't be a big deal. If you build up this idea of 'the perfect diet' that will be super awesome and get you lean, for most people that just means because it seems far away and quite different to current food choices, they don't even get started or make the first steps. In truth weight loss is as easy as ensuring your intake is leading to a net energy deficit, with the food choices you make influencing what it is you're actually losing, energy levels, mood etc.

My lightbulb moment was when I started tracking macros roughly, logged down what different foods were what in protein/carb/fat terms and found if I planned ahead about a week at a time I never needed to think about dieting or snacking because I knew what I was eating on any given day (with a focus on about the majority of the weeks food being nutrient-rich, and a little being whatever I felt like - as long as it fit).

I track a bit more strictly now when dieting because as you get leaner, you can't afford to lose as much per week as you can if you're fat, which means your margin for error is smaller, but to start off with I used pretty simplified rules, rounded things up/down etc. Baby steps.
 
Somnambulist said:
My lightbulb moment was when I started tracking macros roughly, logged down what different foods were what in protein/carb/fat terms and found if I planned ahead about a week at a time I never needed to think about dieting or snacking because I knew what I was eating on any given day (with a focus on about the majority of the weeks food being nutrient-rich, and a little being whatever I felt like - as long as it fit).
Click to expand...

Same, I never thought about diet but when I decided to do something about my body shape this was my first port of call - read a lot on here and body building sites/forums about macros.

I needed to properly calorie count (looking up and weighing everything) at first because I had no idea of portion sizes. Now though it's not so critical but will still check something on the scales from time to time.

I can run through the meals of the day and come to a rough (+/- 200 kcal) estimate of what I've eaten. Often on the way home after work to decide what I eat for dinner.

It's not that I deny myself everything I like to eat, it just fits in to the day rather than over-eating at every opportunity and then stacking a 'treat' on top of that. Of course there's the occasional lan night with pizza and many beers that fits nowhere near into any day, but it's once a month. I wouldn't do it every weekend as I'd not be able to balance it.
 
arknor said:
well compared to jogging/running it isn't.

I walked 8 miles earlier and would rather have road 30+
Mainly because it was so bloody boring and slow
Click to expand...

couldnt agree more.. id rather cycle 50+ miles then walk/run 5... ive played football aswell for over 20 years and i still hate running..

cycling has a lot less impact on your body aswell..
 
I lost nearly 4 stone by using myfitnesspal and logging absolutely everything that went in my mouth, a lot fail by not adding the odd treat or beer etc. I also used to run 3 miles a night which I loved but unfortunately had to give up due to a spinal problem which means no impact sports :(

I've since put a stone on but I'm making an effort to shed it by September (holiday) and currently speed walking 5.5 miles in 74 mins every other night with 2 x 1 hour swimming sessions a week. Hoping to make use of my roadbike I bought last year before my spine problem.

Has far as exercise goes you need to find something you enjoy IMO swimming, cycling and running are the easiest to enjoy and continuously set yourself targets (further / quicker) it will help you want to get out and do it :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom