Origin: Healthy Weights
- emotional state suffered by dieters
- hopelessness, despair, self-doubt
di•et tired: (adjective)
Blog Updates
Poll
Drew's Picks
DISCLAIMER
This blog is presented for informational purposes only.
Content does not constitute medical advice. Views expressed are solely the author's. The author makes no guarantees regarding the accuracy or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to via this blog.
Comments published on this blog do not reflect the views of Drew Harvey, www.DietTired.com or The Healthy Weights Clinic www.HealthyWeights.ca
'What the heck thinking' and weight loss
Submitted by Drew on Sat, 06/06/2009 - 18:23
In my last post I indicated that people tend to eat better on days that they are physically active. This is likely because most of us subscribe to the what the heck theory.
The what the heck theory is closely related to ‘all or nothing’ or ‘black and white’ thinking.
When it comes to dieting and exercise, many people take an all or nothing approach. They exercise excessively and eat like rabbits until they can no longer sustain such vigorous and restrictive eating patterns.
In other words, when they are ‘on’ they are really ‘on’ and vice versa. (Let me know in the comments section if this rings a bell with you)
What the heck theory -term developed at the Healthy Weights Clinic.
The what the heck theory occurs when you miss your morning workout, feel guilt and frustration and eat poorly through the day because you think “What the heck? I already missed my workout I may as well eat poorly too.”
What the heck thinking is a difficult habit to break, but it is critical to your long term success. Eating and exercise are by no means black and white or all or nothing actions.
If you miss your workout use that as a chance to focus on your eating and if your eating activity suffers, use that as motivation to exercise more, not less.
Ultimately you must change your thinking much like changing a bad habit. It will take time and practice but in time you will no longer be a subscriber to what the heck thinking and be taking a much gentler and kinder approach to eating and activity.
Have you been able to break this habit? Tell us how in the comments section below.
Free Stuff
Popular
6 Steps To End Emotional Eating
For some, overeating has little effect on their emo...
When I lose weight I will…
What will you do when you lose weight? Or better yet, what is stopp...
KISS Guide to Your Calorie Intake
Imagine not knowing how much fuel is in y...
The Body Image vs Body Size Quiz
Individuals with a history of overweight or who were teased about t...
Recent comments
- Interesting input but I also
2 days 14 hours ago - wow i was just gonna go
4 days 22 hours ago - As in most situations, it is
5 days 7 hours ago - Emotional eating is clearly a
1 week 5 hours ago - Your question almost sounds
1 week 8 hours ago
Comments
"What the heck" thinking
Funny you used pictures of a light switch for this article. Not long ago I blogged about my own experience at a BBQ where I had illogically decided that I was going to eat as much of everything as I wanted. I wrote that it was as if a switch had been flipped, and I suddenly had this drive to overeat quickly, as if I wanted to get it done before I came back to my senses and put an end to this ridiculous behavior! So yeah, I can say I TOTALLY relate with what you're describing here, but I'm working on improving!
What the heck!
I can really relate to this type of thinking! It used to be the way that I thought. "Oh well. I ate the cake so I may as well blow off the rest of the day!" I am happy to say that I no longer think this way. When I was sick for a week, and new I wasn't going to get the exercise I would normally, I focused on eating well. If I have a few extra calories, I make sure to get some extra exercise in to make up for it.
It really is about changing your perspective on things. This new attitude of mine has now become a habit. And this new habit has helped me to lose 52 pounds.....and counting!
Story of my Life!
This is exactly how I function. And the result is that my healthy eating and exercise are not consistent. I need to work on changing this pattern and then the success I am striving for will come! Probably the toughest habit to break and, I think, my last big hurdle!
Just be gentle
I can completely relate, as I actually had a personal trainer tell me the same thing. "You are either on or you are off" - and truly it is a battle finding a balance in my life. Eating better more often and getting to the gym or being active more - slowly incorporating it into your life. It is a battle, and a cyclical one. Someone told me once, just be gentle with yourself. Instead of so much negative self talk, lots of positive self talk, and forgiveness instead of blame.
Do I still struggle with getting regular exercise in, yes. Do I still struggle with eating properly all the time, yes. But instead of going full steam ahead into negative thoughts, and doing more harm, I have learned to just be with that moment - then allowing the next one to happen. The shift will come, you just have to be gentle with yourself. Just like anything, this is a journey, and not every day is easy.
Procrastinating because I can't find my ON switch
I've historically been very guilty of using the on/off switch as a reason for not succeeding in weight loss. I don't know how many times I've said "I need to find my ON switch" - thinking that if I can't be 100% ON, it isn't worth even trying. That perfectionist, all-or-nothing attitude. Trying to find the "RIGHT" time to diet. But one thing I have learned at HW is that it's not about perfection...it's about (for me) making binges less severe and less frequent, and making better choices more often. It's about finding activities that I enjoy and can commit to most of the time, but not beating myself up if I have to let up.
So perhaps what I really need is a dimmer switch...sometimes the light is stronger than others...sometimes dim light is all you can handle, but at least the light is still on.
I once had this put into
I once had this put into perspective for me like this:
If you get a small scratch on the exterior of your car, would you then think the vehicle was ruined entirely? Would you just go out and total your car, because it was already trashed anyway? Of course not. We would just do our best to fix the scratch and avoid scratching it up again in the future.
Sadly, though, when I get a “small scratch” in my diet plans, I really do go and just ruin the whole thing, thinking all has been lost anyway. Even though I know better, I’m still guilty as charged.
(Guess I need to keep thinking back to the car analogy, huh??)
Post new comment