Thursday, January 29, 2015

Article - Brutal Reasons You Aren't Losing Weight

So, I read GOMI on a regular basis (getoffmyinternets, for those of you who might not be familiar, where they go to complain about bloggers that they feel should get of the internet for one reason or another). It's a guilty pleasure, (and I do like to make sure my name never pops up! I like to keep things pretty off the radar. I write as an outlet and for a little community feeling, so I think I'm pretty safe, it's usually hypocritical money-making blogs that end up on that site). But, I like to read it, because I sometimes side-eye a blogger or two, but don't like to comment unless it is someone I have developed some sort of relationship with and feel I can have a conversation with (which never happens with the bigger blogs). So GOMI is a nice place to see others who might feel the same way!

Anyway!

I was reading the forums and someone posted this article on a thread: The Brutally Honest 6 Reasons You Are Still Overfat and, though it is kind of crude (swearing, and.. yes, the author is being brutally honest with what he thinks!), I did agree with a majority of what I read and wanted to share it.

Here are things that stood out, all are direct quotes from the author, Coach Taylor:

- You are responsible for yourself.

- You have to make sacrifice to stay healthy. Deal with it. You will have to turn down the donuts. Pass over the ice cream. Skip the odd party.
Forever? No. You can add these into a healthy life for sure. Not daily. Maybe not even weekly. 95% of your diet has to be perfectly healthy. That is the reality.
Life isn’t fair. Life is hard. You will get out of it what you put into it.

-‘Treats’ are something out of the ordinary. If it happens more than once a month it is no longer out of the ordinary. Stop saying treat. You aren’t having a treat.

- If you are already planning the end then what you are doing is not for life. And if you are doing things for your health and fitness that you don’t plan on doing for life then you are destroying your own life.

- An end implies cessation of current activities. If your current activities are healthy then by default the cessation of those activities is unhealthy. They are your old habits. You know them, they are the habits and activities (or lack thereof) that got you to this point to begin with.

-It is because your attitude will determine your success. And your attitude is based on your life and the issues you deal with. And I want you to take a minute to put into perspective the majority of your problems and issues.

(And my favorite!):

- It is either a cold miserable winter day or a chance to learn to cross country ski. It is either a boring meal of roast and vegetables or a gift to spend time with loved ones over a bounty of food many people would literally kill for. It is either a workout you have to do or a celebration of the amazing gift your healthy body is.

... Okay, end of quotes :)

He wrapped up a lot of points I feel are true really succinctly. And if you don't get butt-hurt about the brashness of it, and take it to heart, you might see where you are faltering.

I know I tend to blame a lot of my diet slip-ups on outside events. But the truth is, I could always have made a different decision. Ex: not eaten cookies after my grandma passed, waited to get home for dinner or not eaten the bread at a dinner served by my cousin, just eaten the chili, etc.

So while a lot of circumstances make it HARDER to make the right decision, it is, in the end, a decision. A choice.

And, like he points out in the article, how LUCKY we are to worry about our health and weight, when many billions of people are worrying about their health and weight because they don't have enough food or water.

It is important to be adult about this and own our choices. Whining won't get us anywhere :)

I liked reading that, it was a good reality check. I have some vanity weight I want off, but I have to make the right choices to do so, and that's all on me. End of story!

Okay, just wanted to share. Enjoy your day!













6 comments:

  1. I literally just posted about this article, too!

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    1. I just saw that! Great minds think alike ;) But, definitely worth a read... we all make it much too complicated sometimes!

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  2. Loved the article ... but not so much his response to the person who disagreed with him. Coach Taylor said thinking carbs make you fat is horrendously false. In my experience it's horrendously true.

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    1. Ditto, Anna. I see the coach is a Calories in Calories out guy. Lots of people are, but so many of us have to have a "tough not moderate" approach around carbs and high inflammatory foods.

      I do enjoy the tough not moderate spirit. That is very needed in long term weight maintenance-IMO.

      Keep things around you that are positive.... bloggers, family, friends, pets. The negative will turn on the negative... IMO. Time away from the hate will lead to growth. Time with haters, well, it might be fun like GS cookies- but eventually... ;)

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  3. I like it when someone just writes the truth. A lot of people (myself included) want to be soothed and told that it's not our fault we struggle to eat well, it's society/parents/friends/lifestyles that are to blame. And the bit about treats really hits home - the current mainstream attitude (which comes directly from advertising) that you need to "treat yourself because you deserve it" is ruining us. From overeating junk food at home after a long day, celebrating every office birthday with a cake, to buying too much stuff we can't afford on credit, feeling we "deserve" more than we need is driving us down a dangerous path. I heard an ad on the radio that made my jaw drop - saying you "deserved" to stop at McDonalds for an egg mcmuffin or giant coffee drink because you accomplished really routine things like dropping the kids off at school. And having the ingrained idea that we should be rewarding ourselves regularly with food or purchases just sets us up to be cranky when we can't have our "treat" (which isn't a treat since it's a regular thing!) I am guilty of all of these from time to time, and just hope someday I can live simply for the reward of a healthy body that I take care of every day. That's all I deserve.

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  4. I like when people try to write 'real' without trying to sugarcoat it. Like you said, it all boils down to a choice. And your choices are to blame for your success or failure. Enjoyed the article and your post. Thanks for sharing!

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