HOW did you get on with my “challenge within a challenge” last week? I asked you to be extra-vigilant about how much hidden sugar you were consuming in everyday food. I’m wondering how many positives happened as a result.
Today I’d like you to reflect back over what you’ve noted in your success log for the past week and reflect on the changes.
Look back at what you’ve achieved and congratulate yourself because your brain’s reward centre will get a buzz from your results and it will make you feel really good.
But what if you had certain expectations of what you wanted to achieve you didn’t quite get there? What happens then?
Throwing in the towel when faced with a challenge is no good. One of the keys to sustainable weight loss is consistency and you achieve this by training yourself to turn the obstacles into something you learn from – and use the learnings to succeed.
Success truly happens when the negatives have no impact and your brain is trained to automatically think about how you can use the opportunity to succeed.
The best way for me to describe this is to give you an example – and this was recently posted in Slimpod Club.
So you can see how Pat could quite easily have let herself be all-consumed with disappointment about the fact that she had a mini binge. She could quite easily have decided to give up.
But instead Pat saw the positive – it was only four biscuits – and if you have something going on like this right now then I encourage you to change what that means to you.
Instead of feeling disappointed and annoyed, make it something you take action on and do something positive with rather than letting it defeat you.
This is so important because it builds mental toughness and self worth. If you persevere with something you start believing, you can do it.
That’s all it is – looking at things from a different viewpoint. It’s also about keeping calm and being in control rather than allowing emotion to take over.
The real secret is in making “failure” your friend rather than something you fear and run away from.
This is going to help you get over the obstacles and move on to create and build healthy habits which will take you to your end goal…lasting weight loss.
Let me know below if you’re one of those people who stops if the results aren’t as expected? Let me also know how you can make a positive out of a negative so you start changing interrupting the pattern.
22 thoughts on “Turning an obstacle into a positive you can learn from”
Yes I have often given up because of a bad day. I now know yes I may get these days every now and again but hey tomorrow is another new day to a new me. I had five stone to lose I don’t want to go back there I still have two stone to go. Deal with a bad day don’t let it destroy the good already done.
This is very new to me on day 4. Never really thought about it but tonight when I cam home from work I realised I had 3 cups of tea in work and didn’t have one ? biscuit with my tea. Normally I’m first to the biscuit tin.
I did ok with the hidden sugar challenge and had every intention of focusing on a Mediterranean, Blood Sugar of 5:2 approach BUT have been laid low by a common cold. HOWEVER, this time I have not used it as an excuse for sucking sweets, drinking tots of whisky or dunking endless biscuits in tea – so pleased about that. I will get back to exercise when my chest feels better and hopefully continue my progress but I am finding it harder with the cold weather. Any advice on how to cope with feeling cold and miserable on these dark winter days?
Liz Lambert, a good breakfast will keep you going until lunch and then get creative with home made soups, nutricious and filling.
Fantastic! it’s so easy to spot the negatives but there are always positives in there somewhere xx
I succumbed to lots of sweeties and birthday cake on Saturday but on reflection I didn’t eat any hamburgers or beef burgers and zero alcohol so not all bad. ?
I haven’t being listening to my Slimpod but I’ve been plodding along . Today I binged on pure sugar and I am so sick now . That for me is a positive . I’m back on track
I have been very aware of sugar in foods and have been for a lot of years but reading your emails and blogs just keep me on track which is a massive positive for me so thank you . I have definitely changed my way of thinking because of the slimpod yesterday I went to a baby shower afternoon tea normally I have coffee but I’m cutting out caffeine for November so had a fruit tea had lovely sandwiches but brought a massive lump of walnut cake and scone home to share with my husband later in the day the best thing was I did not feel guilty was very full did not even make a dinner , a year ago I would have stuffed it all and felt sick ? because of it !!! Ps the walnut cake was way too sweet I just had a scone ?
if i think i need something sweet.. i pretend that the kitchen isnt mine. so i go and do something else. till tea time.
I did fine with the challenge as thanks to Slimpod I am eating much healthier. On Saturday I was at my granddaughters birthday party and ate what I wanted including cake. Back to normal on Sunday. I am doing more walking now than ever and instead of jumping in the car to go local I walk and am feeling the benefit.
I cannot believe that your Slimpod has worked. I used to feel hungry all the time but now I have to remind myself it is lunch/dinner etc. I am conscious of my sugar intake whereas before I “did It anyway”. Fingers crossed that this continues. Have lost 5lbs already so feeling positive.
Yes, I’m one who stops if can see quick results
I have been listening to my slimpods every night but had forgotten about writing in a log about positives must get a note book and try harder to get back on course.
Hi, Sometimes I’ve picked out stuff from the weekly shop and bought it i.e. because it has said no added sugar like squosh only to discover it already had loads of sugar, this taught me to be aware of sneaky advertising and to take my glasses shopping with me! The other thing now is that I like to think that I make good alternative selections i.e. choosing sparkling water instead of diet cokes and continue to listen to my slimpod. Regards, Joe
I was glad to read this story. On Sunday I succumbed to a free cookie and mince pie on offer where I stopped for coffee. I felt I had let myself down but then also realized that apart from a little square of tiffin it was the only “dessert”I had eaten all week. My self respect was restored, and I hadn’t really enjoyed them either!
I felt I craved sweet things more just because I tried not to eat them. It is hard to avoid all the hidden sugars there is just way too much used.
I tell myself that I am not on a diet, just ThinkingSlimmer. I wanted some chocolate but after eating 2 sweets it tasted so incredibly sweet that it put me off. Now I reach for fresh fruit instead. Yeah me!
I used to give up if I thought I wasn’t getting the results I wanted but not now. I know it will take a while. This past week I have been paying attention to the sugar content on labels & have changed to lower sugar varieties where possible. I did give in to temptation & had ONE sweet on 4 occasions, usually I would have had 3-4 several times during the day.
I’ve been binge eating for 3 weeks on and off. My positive is I haven’t weighed myself and Ive been back on track for the last 6 days. I usually feel depressed and give up do I count this as s positive
Hi, I have been trying to start my journey for the past month but have had a few problems. I have Vascular Dementia that does not help me to retain information. I would like to be a silent member and continue to read your comments and the emails that Sandra sends, as I find them very genuine and funny at times. This is my positive out of a negative
Evenings are the worst time for me because as soon as i sit down after housework , dinner, ironing etc I start snacking. I know I’m psychologically rewarding myself. Any suggestions how to stop this habit please ?
Make sure you have healthy rewards on hand every evening. Cut up a red pepper into strips – it’s sweet tasting and gives you almost a whole day’s supply of Vitamin C. Walnuts are also a great protein-packed snack. When I have work to do around the house I always make sure I drink at least half a litre of fresh water as this fills me up nicely so I don’t feel the need for anything else.