Keep Trying

I always try to take a gentle approach when it comes to myself and my health. I’ve learned that being hard on myself and trying to push myself too hard just isn’t a motivator for me, in fact it’s quite the opposite. Nothing demotivates me than saying “you must do …”, “You feel bad but keep going”, “Don’t be a quitter”, “No room for failure”. You get what I’m talking about. Failure is pretty disappointing, especially if you try hard and just didn’t meet your expectations. I’m learning that failure is just apart of life and rather than look at it in such a negative view, I tell myself I tried, I gave it a go and if I didn’t reach the goal then that’s totally ok, I can just try again.

I take this same approach when it comes to my diet and exercise. I had a bad eating day, well that’s ok, one day won’t make a difference but I know that 3 or 4 might. I didn’t exercise or I didn’t meet my workout length, that’s also fine, because at least I tried and I can always try again the next day. It’s good to learn to forgive yourself, but be careful this doesn’t turn around and become a bad habit. If one day starts turning into two then three, well you’re going to have to re-evaluate what you’re actually doing. Failure can be disheartening, but don’t let it stop you. I know how hard it is to get back up and try again, but if you’re putting in the effort then good for you for trying. All you can do is just keep trying, you will see a difference.

I’m taking this approach with myself, especially over the past week. I didn’t lose any weight but at least I didn’t gain any. I probably had a couple of days where I made bad choices and didn’t exercise every day, I also know being on my medication makes it harder to lose weight. However, I’m not giving up I just need to reassess my week and try to do better. Some good things about the week, I managed to keep my calories, most days, around 950 to 1000. I exercised 3 times during the week, which is definitely better than none. I also know I had a really tough week mentally so I’m not going to be too hard on myself.

I won’t lie, I was pretty disheartened when I saw the scales hadn’t moved. My first thought was “what was I doing wrong”. I have a really bad habit for quitting things when they get too hard, but I’m determined to not let that happen this time. I just have to keep trying because I know I’m eventually going to see results

The weigh things are

I had a bit of rough start to the week, I realised my scales were out and when I had weighed myself last was incorrect. I hopped on the scales after setting it correctly and what I saw made me feel like all my hard work had been for nothing. If I’m honest though, I have no idea what my weight was before I started so I really have no idea if I lost weight. My waist measurements don’t like though, I had definitely lost some centimetres. However, because of the mishap with the scales it put me in a bad mood for the day and I ate whatever I liked and didn’t exercise. This lasted 2 days, on the third day I thought “hold on, you can still lose something, don’t give up now” and I forced myself back on the treadmill. I won’t lie, it was agony, my whole body and mind were screaming at me saying how much it hated walking because my legs were burning. I couldn’t do an hour, but I did 40 minutes. I’ve read that the optimal length of time to exercise to lose weight is 30 to 60 minutes. So anything over 30 minutes is a bonus.

I’m trying not to be too hard on myself, especially because I know I’m entering a depressive low. I think being gentle on myself has really helped me along the way, I’m not beating myself up if I don’t exercise one day or if I have a piece of cake. After all, there is no joy in making your own life difficult.

I’m still sticking with bland foods, although I’m planning to add a bit more fresh fish and seafood to my lunch to stop it getting so repetitive. I have always heard that you should stop eating when you’re 80% full. I’ve found this really difficult in the past, but what I’m doing is working. I’m able to stop myself from overeating and I’m feeling satisfied. I never thought I’d see the day again where I was feeling satisfied.

When it comes to what actual foods I’ve been eating, well I still have the same lunch as I mentioned previously, but I plan to use some fresh fish as my protein. I’m making sure to measure my food every single time. No more than 1 cup of food. I believe my stomach has somewhat shrunk back to what it should be since I had surgery as a lot of the time I can’t eat more than 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup before I’m full.

Dinner has been pretty basic with a lot of meals containing rice or potato. I do have a hard time finding a protein to eat that I’m not getting sick of. I’m finding I get hungry quickly if I don’t include protein and the meal is just vegetables. I try to eat 1/2 cup of protein with each meal. I read somewhere that bariatric patients should always eat the protein first before filling up on other stuff. So that’s exactly what I’ve been doing and I definitely feel fuller for longer. I also eat at very set times because I know how hungry I can get by that time, for example, I always eat 8:30, 12:00 and 5:30, then no more food after that. My body has adjusted to that and I don’t really start getting hungry until close to those times.

Exercising is still a little difficult but I’m doing my best to do some. As long as I get over 30 minutes then I know I’ll feel better. Most of the time I make it between 40 minutes to an hour and I’m pretty pleased with that. Tomorrow is weigh day and measurement day so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ve made some progress. Even if I haven’t I know I’ve tried and I’m still making a difference to my body and my health. I’ll keep you updated!