When you've reached the tipping point
share on: facebook | twitter | google+ | redditSOoo I found this old post from a self-improvement blog I was writing on a little over a year ago and I wanted to share it with you because it has some significance that I think you'll appreciate.
For some background, this blog was targeted at guys in my age bracket or younger so I mention the online dating scene in it once or twice. I was living in Austin, Texas at the time and had started to panic because my weight was getting out of control, I was literally watching myself clink-clink-clink back up the weight gain/loss roller coaster.
There's some more important words from me today at the very bottom too.
Okay, begin post...NOW:
I woke up and checked the scale.
205 pounds.
Hmmm... okay, probably just water weight. I've been staying between 195 and 200 for a couple years now just by practicing intermittent fasting and a loose, 75/25 ratio of paleo/non-paleo foods.
Next week: 208.
Okay...this is odd. Alright, shake it off and refocus. Just keep doing what you always do.
One more time: 211...
My weight has reached the tipping point.
And there are two ways one can handle it.
The first way: become overwhelmed with stress, feeling like a sack of shit. A failure. Seeking comfort in food and/or zoning out with episodes of Bob's Burgers. Unfortunately, this is what got me here in the first place. My relationship with food as a way to zone out.
I recently moved to Austin Texas and made it a mission stretch myself in many directions, improving social skills, meeting new people, running two new blogs, keeping my standards high at my current job. For me, this is a lot, and my usual diet, sprinkled with weekly stress-release food binges, is no longer working.
The second way: Use the tipping point as the maximum stretch point of a rubber band and drive forward with a renewed focus.
Reprioritize your goals in alignment with your vision, and regain control of the ship.
This goes along with the idea of eustress. Eustress is beneficial stress. Stress that you take advantage of.
It's a signpost.
For me this means I'm dialing back on my social development. I even canceled a tinder date. Not something I recommend but I'm experimenting with that as a form of self-punishment. No dates until I'm at least back to 200 pounds. No worrying about going out on the weekend. I'll still be social, but that realm has put the most pressure on me and it's an area that I don't feel an urgency towards.
I also purchased a fat loss guide (around $40 bucks) to put me onto a more clearly defined eating plan. I've gotten too loose, so I need some rules to follow. I liked this guide and it is in alignment with the research I've done in thenutrition and training fields over the past five years. The plan also includes an hour of daily self-hypnosis that will be interesting to put into practice.
So there it is. Among a few other tweaks to my daily activities, I'll be making a fresh start, and I'm excited.
When you reach a tipping point, use it as the ultimate leverage.
A springboard.
Take a look at what got you here, and reprioritize. Let go of the excess.
And I mean this in a very literal sense. Be prepared to drop what you've been doing and restart.
Clean your room, take a shower, go buy some groceries, and get ready to step up tomorrow.
--End of old post!
Okay, wow, so I had a spark!
This is significant because it was the starting point of what took me to my current healthy weight of 178. That post marks the high point on my weight and it was there that everything seemed to click together.
This is an experience that if you haven't had yet, I'd like to help kickstart for you. You've heard me mention Diet Coach In-A-Box over the last few months now. This can be that opportunity for you to step up and finally close the chapter on your weight loss journey for good.
This is the important part: the course will be available for sign-up this Wednesday (9/13) and will close Saturday at noon. There will only be 50 spots available and I expect them to fill up so grab it while you can.