How do I get myself back in the proper fitness/weight loss mindset?
I don't have a great answer for this question. I wish I did (and so does most of America). But there is no simple answer.
I think of the the biggest factors for me was finding something active that I enjoy. Because it is a heck of a lot easier to do a fitness activity when you enjoy it, instead of fear it and have to force yourself to do it. I know that from personal experience. It is a lot easier to get up, get dressed and get moving at 0 dark thirty and head out the door in single digit temperatures when I enjoy what I am doing. In fact that enjoyment can push you past a lot of things (pain, hunger etc.).
In fact that description exactly matches this:
Running in the dark, in single digit temperatures, with a freezing wind. Although not as bad as the wind the day before, I might not have gone out in that wind (I do have my limits.) Either way, just going out for a 3 mile run in those circumstances shows how my mental outlook has embraced the idea of running.
I want to emphasize that it doesn't have to be running. The exercise could be anything, so long as it is something that you enjoy doing enough to want to do it regularly. I have 1 parent who plays sports 3 days a week. Another swims and takes their dogs on walks. Another friend is a crossfit junkie. The thing they all have in common is they have found something active that they enjoy enough to do regularly. And this is not as easy as I make it sound. I sure never expected my thing to be running. To be honest for most of my life I would have thought that finding a good tennis partner or basketball group would have been the way I found to be active. But that isn't how things turned out, that isn't a bad thing or negative. I found my 'thing', and all I can do is suggest that other people find theirs somehow.
The other factor for me has been routine. I am a creature of habit. And I had some bad ones. Eating a 2000 calorie lunch every Friday for example. Eating the same high carb cereal every day. Having what seemed like a healthy evening snack of honey toast every night. And the flip side of developing good habits is breaking bad ones.
Which is one of the reasons I like the Skinny Rules. Having something that I can model my routines around made it a lot easier to establish those new practices as habits. That has made a real difference for me. It was easier for me than just following a strict diet like no fat, or the Paleo, or Atkins etc. Because, while those are good, they didn't provide enough structure for me, because they don't address lifestyle changes. It is a good thing to watch what you eat, don't get me wrong. But for me, having a practice of limiting/eliminating carbs after lunch, not eating after dinner, etc. are easier to turn into habits. And that is what worked for me: better habits.
I guess that those are the 2 answers to the above question. First, find something active that you enjoy and want to do. Doesn't matter what that is: running, biking, playing basketball and soccer 3 times a week, swimming, taking the dogs for a walk. Second, find a way to develop good habits to replace bad habits. This requires patience and constant work until the good ones really sink in.
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