What inspires me to continue and what tricks to I use
My journey on this healthier lifestyle change really comes down to habits, bad habits I want to break and good habits I want to foster or make. So I started using the Noom app (previous posts talk about this) but now 25+ days plus into this I have seen some victories.
This is an example of what inspires me to keep going. This dress, I had in my closet for 10+ years, in fact, my husband has never seen me wear it EVER. I put it on and he said: "hey did you buy a new dress that looks nice." That felt so good. So I took the picture and wrote the words and now that is my phone lock screen so I see it often and remind myself why I am working so hard to make these changes.
Seeing this and wearing this dress made me realize I achieved this goal by changing my habits. On some level, I knew this but I didn't really internalize it, yet I took the picture as inspiration to keep doing what I was doing.
Once I internalized this I knew I had to lean on my guru, Gretchen Rubin because her work speaks to me. I know my tendency, I am an obliger thank you very much. I also know that in her book, Better Than Before, she has great ways to tweak things to build the habits you want to keep. I was successful using that method before, specifically the strategies of 'Pairing' and 'Convenience'.
I should mention that in Noom (paid version) they give you psych tips to help you change your mindset and establish new habits, and since I have read Better Than Before some of those tips Noom is spouting sounds like Gretchen's book and that is not surprising. It also makes me more confident that I can do this without the paid version, but like I said in my previous post I always reserve the right to go back if things are not working out on my own.
Another trick I use on myself that I know I am doing but it still works is plate size. For my snacks I weigh it out and put it in a small custard dish if it is crackers or cottage cheese, it makes it look bigger. For dinner, I usually go with a salad/lunch plate rather than a dinner plate.
My dinner plate was a standard size and even when using only the white portion that is a lot of real estate and I like a full plate. Unfortunately, my pattern didn't have a lunch plate so I went with something else, and it is stacked on top of the dinner plate. When I make my meals and use healthier portions I pretty much have that very full plate that I like to see. For some reason, it helps me to feel more full.
Lastly, I don't try to change others, even in my own family. They are free to make their choices (I am talking adults here I don't let my kids make choices willy nilly but they do have some say in what they eat). For example, I made the decision to use the smaller plate, my kids and husband followed because they wanted to. As I am making choices that are better for me I am finding support in my kids and husband, sometimes it is just them cheering me on and sometimes they are adopting my habits, like with the plate. I do know that if I tried to force this issue it would end up backfiring on me.
My next goal is I would like to wear my engagement ring on a regular basis. In theory, it should fit right now because I weigh less than I did when I got married (w00t!) but it still feels a bit tight but I am sure that I am so close I can almost taste it. I know that these mini victories are helping me reach my longterm goal (again things I read in Better Than Before and in Noom's tips).
Seeing this and wearing this dress made me realize I achieved this goal by changing my habits. On some level, I knew this but I didn't really internalize it, yet I took the picture as inspiration to keep doing what I was doing.
Once I internalized this I knew I had to lean on my guru, Gretchen Rubin because her work speaks to me. I know my tendency, I am an obliger thank you very much. I also know that in her book, Better Than Before, she has great ways to tweak things to build the habits you want to keep. I was successful using that method before, specifically the strategies of 'Pairing' and 'Convenience'.
I should mention that in Noom (paid version) they give you psych tips to help you change your mindset and establish new habits, and since I have read Better Than Before some of those tips Noom is spouting sounds like Gretchen's book and that is not surprising. It also makes me more confident that I can do this without the paid version, but like I said in my previous post I always reserve the right to go back if things are not working out on my own.
My dinner plate was a standard size and even when using only the white portion that is a lot of real estate and I like a full plate. Unfortunately, my pattern didn't have a lunch plate so I went with something else, and it is stacked on top of the dinner plate. When I make my meals and use healthier portions I pretty much have that very full plate that I like to see. For some reason, it helps me to feel more full.
Lastly, I don't try to change others, even in my own family. They are free to make their choices (I am talking adults here I don't let my kids make choices willy nilly but they do have some say in what they eat). For example, I made the decision to use the smaller plate, my kids and husband followed because they wanted to. As I am making choices that are better for me I am finding support in my kids and husband, sometimes it is just them cheering me on and sometimes they are adopting my habits, like with the plate. I do know that if I tried to force this issue it would end up backfiring on me.
My next goal is I would like to wear my engagement ring on a regular basis. In theory, it should fit right now because I weigh less than I did when I got married (w00t!) but it still feels a bit tight but I am sure that I am so close I can almost taste it. I know that these mini victories are helping me reach my longterm goal (again things I read in Better Than Before and in Noom's tips).
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