Accountability, Trusting the Process, and Other Stereotypical Things

cbowen61991
Mar 17, 2024
4 min read

In the process of living my best healthy life, I've come to the conclusion that some stereotypical sayings/tidbits of information are true (imagine that LOL) While this post may not be entertaining, I wanted a place to write them for reference.

Make and stick to a schedule: Random plans come up all the time and can be fun! However, if I take the guess work out of my normal week, I find I have an easier time succeeding. This includes getting up at the same time every day even on weekends, going to the same gym class each week, etc. Other things that help along these lines:
- Layout clothes night before as well as pack lunch and gym bag if needed. I often will pick out my work shirts every Sunday and lay out 2-3 outfits at a time, including undergarments. I have been packing 2-3 days worth of lunches at a time so I don't have to bring my luncbox back and forth as much. This helps with bringing less bags on days I change at work and exercise right away.
- Spread out cleaning so a weekend day isn’t spent doing all work. I typically clean the litter box every other day or every couple days, and keep up with cleaning the kitchen counters, but beyond that I will sometimes do one chore a day during the week, especially if I have a busy weekend coming up. Monday dusting, Tuesday vacuum, Wednesday clean the bathroom, Thursday laundry, etc etc.
Having workout buddies/a support system: being upfront with my friends and family, I believe, is going to be the key to my success. This includes telling them how they can help me and if I'm having a hard time. I do better writing out my thoughts vs a rapid fire conversation sometimes, which is why I started this blog. Hopefully if I'm honest about what my goals are, my friends and family will be able to (gently) push me back on track too!
Meal prep. Keeping healthy food around makes it easier to keep snacking at bay. Keep it simple for meals like- snacks for lunch, egg scrambles for dinner or chicken/rice/broccoli (Satisfies a hot meal/keeps for leftovers). Pick meals that are cheap and doesn't take much thought process. If I prep produce ahead of time I'll have snacks to go or in easy reach for night time munching, or things for salad in a pinch.
- Along these same lines, count calories. This can be in the form of apps or on paper. I've used Weight Watchers and My Fitness Pal in the past. My Fitness Pal has the ability to sync with certain fitness trackers too like Fitbits. I currently use Lose It as recommended by my endocrinologist.
Health coaches and dieticians: Be open to talking to people because these people are trained to help. Also, find a group online or in person for support, like Weight Watchers meetings. It's nice getting ideas and support from someone who is actively going through the same thing as opposed to someone who was an athlete in school and just always maintained a healthy life. Here's why in my opinion: when those people say things like "I know what it's like to need motivation", cue the eye roll- they already have the habits established to get themselves off the couch. However, health coaches and dieticians may have links to meal plans or ideas for different workouts that you may not find online, and they may know of people on social media you could follow.
- In this same idea, therapists trained in eating disorders and Cognitive Behavior Therapy may be great on helping you understand why you do the things you do and help come up with ways to deal with certain behaviors to avoid over (in my case) eating and make it easier to build consistency.
Use medication or get surgery if needed. I find that there is still a stigma to using these things that are tools such as "taking the easy way out". In my case, antidepressants make it much easier to combat life positively which means one less thing for me to battle in this process.
Going off the last point: recognize that I'll need some resilience and overcome the part of my brain that wants to be lazy and eat junk. I've gotten comfortable with being uncomfortable and the only way out is to be uncomfortable (say that five times fast!) Medication, surgery, support groups, etc can only help so much- I myself have to do the actual exercise and dieting.
- Identify my weaknesses: until I have consistent healthy habits in place there are things I cand do to help myself. For example, I LOVE cheese and cheese-it's. I will often go weeks without buying these things because I tend to eat multiple servings in one sitting. The whole "pour one portion in a bowl and put the box away" method doesn't work for me because it's easy to walk the 10 steps to the kitchen counter and get it back out.
- Recognize when I'm mindlessly eating or scrolling/procrastinating and ask myself why. Am I sad or upset about something? Am I stressed or disappointed about something that happened that day? Do I feel hurt by what someone did and want justification that what I'm feeling isn't crazy? I usually text friends if it's the last point, and if I'm sad I try to do something I love to keep my mind occupied.
Just show up even if I can't give my normal effort. Do 80% effort at kickboxing if it means I go and can complete the class without back pain. Tell myself to go for a 10 minute walk, maybe it'll turn into 20+. If I'm feeling the need for M+Ms, have 4 not a whole handful or bag.
Finally, trusting the process - have to be consistent to see results and it's typical for weight to fluctuate. I often will see the scale go up a pound and say F it, and then eat whatever fatty carb filled takeout item I want. This is the worst thing I could do consistency wise.