Shawn's Weight Loss Journey
Page 4
Apr. 25, 2023
Falling off the wagon...
At some point, you will fall off the wagon... Everyone can... Let's discuss getting back ON that wagon!
Not as easy as it sounds, but I had to climb my fat ass back on the wagon after I fell off of it in my prior weight loss attempts... I HAD to, and DID!
Everybody falls off the wagon from time to time. The trick is to climb right back onto the wagon quickly, instead of despairing and giving up on your goals. And if (when?) you fall off again, just climb back on again. There's nobody giving prizes or demerits; it's just you taking charge of your own health.
It’s always hard to start up again after falling off, but it’s necessary and critical to ensure you don’t end up right back where you started. So, if you are like me, and have screwed up, here are a couple helpful tips on getting back on the wagon to weight loss success:
1) Start working out immediately and doing it everyday. Even if it’s just taking a long walk everyday, it’s better than not doing anything at all. Even if your end goal is to work out 3-4 times a week, working everyday to begin with will kickstart your body to adjust to working out again. After a few weeks of doing it everyday, you can adjust to 3-4 times a week again.
2) The buddy system is your best friend. Accountability is most important from the very beginning when getting back into the groove. It’s so easy to go one or two days with a strong push, but then slip back into old habits. Having a friend to hold you accountable, whether through working out together or watching your diets together, is a powerful motivator to stay on track. Ask a friend, family member or colleague to join you for work outs, lunches or walks for the first few weeks. Also, it’s always more fun to diet and exercise with others than going it alone.
The thing about wagons is that once you fall off, you can jump right back on them. Don't beat yourself up. Just start again. You cannot change what you did last week, yesterday, or an hour ago. Dust yourself off and commit your energies to tomorrow!
I'm sure we all know that looking at yourself in a mirror, you may not see anything happening... Don't get discouraged! Think paper towels! Yep, thats right, the quicker picker upper shows us the way to understand how your body takes shape...
Two other things that have helped me... One is a chart I keep in the kitchen, You know, close to the fridge... It's a 52 week weight loss sheet. I put the date in and my weight. One time a week. Sunday. I don't step on the scale at ALL for anything other than Sunday.
If you would like a copy, you can download it below.
The other thing that is helping are fish tank stones... I have 2 separate containers, one with 113 stones, and the other is currently empty. As I remove the pounds, I will take the equivalent number of stones and move to the empty container. A little motivational trick I learned online. Of course, you don't have to use aquarium stones, you can use marbles, pennies, whatever floats your boat...
One other thing I did...Back when we were discussing bikes, and I mentioned a recumbent bike... Well, I did it. I invested in one. Looks comfy to me. I am going to ride the recumbent style bike at the gym first, in order to get used to it without making a total ass of myself... As for the other bike? I may occasionally use it, but I'll probably pass it down to my son when he's here, IF I can talk him into riding...lol
Here it is... With my OTHER bike...
That seat just looks so cushy... All it needs is a motor... Well, I guess that defeats the whole purpose of RIDING it...lol
More coming in short order!
