How do you become disciplined?

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

I disagree. I think everyone who is attempting to lose weight should participate in a calorie tracker for at least a month or so. I was amazed how much the "little things" added up. When you're forced to enter everything into a calorie tracker, it really makes you take stock of what you're eating.

I would always grab little unhealthy snacks in the kitchen at work (bite-sized candy, cookies, chips, etc.) in very small portions. However, since I was doing it several times per day, it essentially added up to another meal.

I would agree that, after some time tracking, you get an idea of how much of what food gets you to your goals and it becomes overkill to continue tracking. I think it's an eye-opener though and a very worthwhile exercise for a month or so.

Fair enough, but did you really need a calorie tracker to realize that unhealthy snacks are unhealthy? I knew I didn't need to track my calories because I dedicated myself to revamping my approach to eating. Bad food is bad. A cookie is less healthy than an apple. Don't know why you need a chart to realize that.

And like I said before, with good preparation, you aren't grabbing bite-sized chocolate flavored saturated fat at work, even in small portions. You have healthy food with you.

In your case, the calorie tracker made you realize in numbers how unhealthy some food is. Perhaps that works for some people, but I'll save you all the trouble; research very healthy foods, buy them, and then eat them. If you still believe a pack of Oreos is the cookie version of spinach, then go ahead, keep a chart and break the shocking news that you're wrong the mathematical way. It's pretty much common sense, if you are serious about changing your diet, toss the paperwork and surround yourself with healthy foods.

[HEavyJumbo85]

Another thing is, don't put too much pressure on yourself by trying to do too many things at the same time. Habits take time to develop, good or bad. You can't just wake up and decide "I'm going to stop biting my fingernails, start exercising, eat healthier, quit smoking, etc." and expect yourself to be able to do it without issue right away. If you get overwhelmed at any point, it's way harder to get back on 5 wagons at the same time than it is 1 or 2, right?

Try to win one battle at a time. Quitting smoking and losing weight are two very difficult things that take a lot of time, patience, and work. If I were you I'd start with your focus on quitting smoking, and just eating better. I wouldn't try to jump into a full excercise routine right away in addition to those things. I'm not advocating zero excercise, take a walk here or there, but I wouldn't recommend trying to quit smoking, overhaul your diet, and spend 5 days a week in the gym, while holding a full time job and maintaining a social life. It's too much in my opinion.

Do what Double said and plan your meals out ahead of time, it is way easier that way. I'd make promises to myself at night that I'd remember to make myself a sandwhich before I went to work in the morning, but at 6am or whenever you wake up, you can talk yourself out of a lot of things lol. Plan your meals, don't get stuck having to grab something out of a vending machine or stop by a drive thru. And if you do eat out at a restaurant, try your best to find a calorie count on a website or somewhere. Those things aren't always accurate, but you'd be surprised how many restaurant foods are terrible for you, even if they sound healthy. Make a plan, control your portions.

A year gives you a lot of hours to use, and yet one year isn't a tremendously long time in the grand scheme of things, if you get what I'm saying. Give yourself plenty of time, don't feel like you have to be completely changed in a month or 2. It's a process.

[Elessar78]

I tried the calorie trackers (fitday). I thought it was fun and interesting but became a pain. If you had anything out of the ordinary then you couldn't really accurately track your caloric intake. Maybe a "close-enough" should be good enough when it comes to this stuff?

An amazing thing that happened was that my electronic scale ran out of battery charge so I didn't use it for 2 months. When I finally got around to changing the battery, I had lost like 10 lbs! Maybe as opposed to fixating on it and checking my weight daily—I subconsciously just ate less and was more active.

[JimboDaMan]

For us attention-deficit-disordered people, pushing temptation away from RIGHT NOW helps a lot.

See that big doughnut? Maybe this afternoon, but not this morning.

Maybe tonight, but not this afternoon.

Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight.

After doing that for a couple of days go ahead, grab that doughnut. You'll be so disappointed in yourself I bet you'll never finish it.

[Elessar78]

Found this article on PsychologyToday.com;

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200807/secrets-the-big-losers

There's no question that losing weight is hard and keeping it off even harder. But it's not impossible. The National Weight Control Registry lists thousands of people who have lost more than 50 pounds and kept it off more than five years. Here's how to do the same....

[MintHillSkinsFan]

12 weeks on Parris Island will do the trick every time. That was 20 years ago for me and I'm as disciplined today as the day I earned my Eagle, Globe and Anchor.

Barring anything that extreme, it's all about routine. Start by getting up at 5am every day and doing some type of exercise, whether it's a walk/run or the gym or just pushups, pullups and situps in your living room. That will get your day started right and clear your mind. It'll be hard to get up early at first but just get used to turning off the alarm and putting your feet on the floor immediately. Don't hit the snooze and don't lay there thinking about it. Just get up and go. If you can master this, then you can master all the other things like eating right and quitting the cigarettes.

Remember,it's all about mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter.

[kramdizzle]

two black eyes because i had to tell her twice. lol

[SkinsHokieFan]

Its taken me most of my 20s to become as disciplined as I am now with eating and working out.

Working out is now a lifestyle for me, whether its basketball or a run. If I don't do any exercise for 2 days I start to feel sick

Likewise with eating. It took me forever to get to a point where simple carbs and sweets just taste nasty now. My family used to have white rice religiously, every day, until I was about 24. Now it just disgusts me.

Someone mentioned preparation, which is correct with diet. Buy the right foods, lots of fruits, veggies, lean meats, wheat bread, etc. I always suggest to people the book "The Abs Diet" which has a very realistic way of "disciplining" you and giving you a diet to lose weight.

As for working out, go at the same time every single day. I go right after work, and on nights I don't hit the gym I think to myself "what the hell else do I have to do?" Its such an ingrained part of my day now, its as automatic as waking up.

Prepartaion, routine, and just some patience. I have worked on this stuff since I was 21, with some starting over a few times since then

[Prosperity]

Likewise with eating. It took me forever to get to a point where simple carbs and sweets just taste nasty now. My family used to have white rice religiously, every day, until I was about 24. Now it just disgusts me.

I can sympathize, but maybe you've taken it too far. That's a huge part of South Asian culture man

[SkinsHokieFan]

I can sympathize, but maybe you've taken it too far. That's a huge part of South Asian culture man

I am able to have it once in a while, maybe once or twice in a 2 week period, at most.

Now dinner is usually some wheat pita bread and whatever meat I am having that night.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Fair enough, but did you really need a calorie tracker to realize that unhealthy snacks are unhealthy? I knew I didn't need to track my calories because I dedicated myself to revamping my approach to eating. Bad food is bad. A cookie is less healthy than an apple. Don't know why you need a chart to realize that.

Simply because it's almost impossible to sustain a strategy where ALL you're eating is healthy food. At some point, you'll reach some goal and go back to eating a more regular diet. At that time, in order to maintain a weight, it's good to know how to moderate the intake of some unhealthy food. Basically, anyone can eat exclusively healthy food for a week/month/year, but the trick is sustaining a relatively healthy lifestyle so that you don't end up gaining back some/all of the weight you lose.

And like I said before, with good preparation, you aren't grabbing bite-sized chocolate flavored saturated fat at work, even in small portions. You have healthy food with you.

Again, that's true. But putting a number on a bite-sized Snickers bar makes it a little more real when you grab it and pop it in your mouth (that's what she said).

In your case, the calorie tracker made you realize in numbers how unhealthy some food is. Perhaps that works for some people, but I'll save you all the trouble; research very healthy foods, buy them, and then eat them. If you still believe a pack of Oreos is the cookie version of spinach, then go ahead, keep a chart and break the shocking news that you're wrong the mathematical way. It's pretty much common sense, if you are serious about changing your diet, toss the paperwork and surround yourself with healthy foods.

I think you're simplifying my point. No where did I say that I thought I was eating healthy. What I did (incorrectly) think was that I was hardly having an impact. When you count your calories for a while, you get a comfort zone of what makes up a recommended day of calories. It also works for portioning of healthy food. If you eat a foot-long sub at Subway every day and see that you're going over your recommended calories by 350, you know that you should scale it back some. After a couple weeks or a month, you have a very good feel for what portions of what foods (even if you're only eating healthy foods) get you to the 2,000 or so calories you need to lose or maintain a weight.

Since January I've lost about 20 pounds simply by slightly increasing my exercise (and I mean slightly) and by refining my diet and eating habits. So, I would guess that the eating habits is contributing much more to the weight loss. I'm not brilliant, but I like to think I'm not dumb. Obviously I knew the difference between good and bad food, but a calorie counter really helped to realize what a typical day should be for me. I still enter the food in just because I like to track it and like to see how I'm doing. I don't need to as the results never shock me, but it's become a habit now.

[mcsluggo]

i am fairly certain that the first key to good discipline is to waste away your hours reading extremeskins.com ....

[HRNY4ZRNY]

So today Is the first day of the rest of my life.

I had a cup of fiber one cereal, 4 triscuit crackers, a 6 inch turkey on wheat, chipotle chips and a cranberry drink so far. Id say a good breakfast and a good lunch. Ive also drank about 3 waters.

So I need to eat some veggies and fruits later today and Im planning on jogging when I get home. Also going to drink more water.

Thanks for all the great ideas. :D:D

[TD_washingtonredskins]

So today Is the first day of the rest of my life.

I had a cup of fiber one cereal, 4 triscuit crackers, a 6 inch turkey on wheat, chipotle chips and a cranberry drink so far. Id say a good breakfast and a good lunch. Ive also drank about 3 waters.

So I need to eat some veggies and fruits later today and Im planning on jogging when I get home. Also going to drink more water.

Thanks for all the great ideas. :D:D

I'd cut out as much non-water drinks as possible actually. I think that will help cut some calories. Juice is better than soda, but even juices can add up.

[Stugein]

I have a long standing mini-OCD thing in that I never return, re-gift, throw away, or otherwise trash any gift that is given to me. Gift clothing that it many years too small and now longer wearable. Awful knick-knacks that someone found at a yard sale and thought I might like. Action figures from birthdays when I was in elementary school. Every holiday card sent to me for every Christmas, birthday, Father's Day, etc. going back for years. You get the idea.

So generally what I do is this..around my birthday I decide on something that I want to do for self-improvement. And on my birthday I give it to myself, as a birthday gift from me. So I can't return it. I feel obligated to see it through because it is a gift. I know it sounds cheesy, but it works for me. One birthday I gave myself the gift of quitting smoking. Smoked my last cigarette on my birthday. Went cold turkey that day and have been smoke free for 4 years now. Last year I decided to get un-fat..gave myself the gift of good eating and regular exercise. I've since dropped over 50lb and am feeling better than I have in years. This year my birthday gift to myself will be to register for my first 5k.

[mcsluggo]

i am a little bit of a fanatic about saying this one, but i will anyway...

BIKE TO WORK

(if its possible)

you have to commute anyway, so it costs you the least amount of time of any exercise routine... and it actually makes your commute ENJOYABLE (imagine that!) -- at least once you have some muscles and endurance built up.

I eat like crap (huge portions, and I snack on a million do-dads a day) BUT... i bike to an from work every day. That means I get about 2 hours of strenuous workout a day (and about 30 miles) ... but if i drive to the metro, park, ride in , and walk 1 block to work it takes about 45 minutes. This means that my 2 hours REALLY costs almost nothing.

edit::

I have to admit that my bike situation is close to ideal (i have two glorious bike paths to choose from that take me most of the way from my home to my office, and they spend a good portion of their distance in beautiful scenery, hugging the potomac) but ANY bike ride is enjoyable---- particularly when compared to commuting in a car!

[TD_washingtonredskins]

i am a little bit of a fanatic about saying this one, but i will anyway...

BIKE TO WORK

(if its possible)

you have to commute anyway, so it costs you the least amount of time of any exercise routine... and it actually makes your commute ENJOYABLE (imagine that!) -- at least once you have some muscles and endurance built up.

I eat like crap (huge portions, and I snack on a million do-dads a day) BUT... i bike to an from work every day. That means I get about 2 hours of strenuous workout a day (and about 30 miles) ... but if i drive to the metro, park, ride in , and walk 1 block to work it takes about 45 minutes. This means that my 2 hours REALLY costs almost nothing.

I always wondered about this. Do you have to shower when you get to work?

[China]

Maybe this would help?

[Predicto]

I always wondered about this. Do you have to shower when you get to work?

Wouldn't help. He smells like an orangutan no matter what he does.

[Special K]

I always prefer to set very small, very realistic weekly goals so that when I meet those I am encouraged to continue my healthy and/or disciplined behavior.

I also try to get a friend to help me in meeting my goals, so that I am accountable to someone other than myself. If it's exercising or eating better, I enlist a girlfriend, or now days, my husband in helping me meet my goals.

Remember. Consistency is key. Don't be discouraged and give up if you have setbacks, just keep plugging away and learn from that setback.

I act like I'm some professional on this subject, but I'm most definitely NOT. Still have a lot of things I'm working on in my own life, but these are the things I have found that help me. Good luck!

I disagree. I think everyone who is attempting to lose weight should participate in a calorie tracker for at least a month or so. I was amazed how much the "little things" added up. When you're forced to enter everything into a calorie tracker, it really makes you take stock of what you're eating.

I agree with you TD. Many times, "lay people" do not realize what they are putting into their bodies. Furthermore, they do not realize they are eating like, 2-3x the normal portion size of of the "good" foods, which stacks up calories as well.

In addition, physically writing down what I eat helps keep me focused on not being a glutton, lol: "wait, the 15 ding dongs I just ate make up my calorie reqs. for the next 2 days?!?! ****!"

[mcsluggo]

yeah, I DEFINITELY need to shower when I get to work. I am a mess by the time I get in...

there is a gym in my building's basement that has razors, and towels, and what not... it just means i shower AFTER my commute, rather than before. I know several people that live in the city (and bike say 3 or 4 miles or less) that do NOT shower after they get in.

[mcsluggo]

Wouldn't help. He smells like an orangutan no matter what he does.

a SLENDER orangutan.

ok.. ok... a skinny, bald orangutan with relatively good teeth.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Furthermore, they do not realize they are eating like, 2-3x the normal portion size of of the "good" foods, which stacks up calories as well.

That's a point I wish I had made more clearly in my initial post. It's not just distinguishing between obviously good and obviously bad foods, but figuring out what portions are correct for you.

[Special K]

That's a point I wish I had made more clearly in my initial post. It's not just distinguishing between obviously good and obviously bad foods, but figuring out what portions are correct for you.

I knew what you were getting at

I've found portion sizes to be a HUGE factor in weight control. Most people eat way too large of portions in all of their meals...

[mcsluggo]

i am just getting used to life without "the hummingbird metabolism" that i had for most of my life... it sucks to lose it!