Trying to get the mind to catch up with the body

Coming up to the dreaded TOTM this week and it really got me thinking. We can control our food and our eating habits, we can take regular exercise and we can really look after ourselves. But the biggest battle is really with your mindset. I’ve lost and maintained weight before, the last time I managed to maintain for 4 years, but in the end I’ve just put it back on again eventually. With Dukan and since reading this forum I’ve been thinking more about why I keep relapsing so I can make sure it doesn’t happen again and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m my own worst enemy, especially around my TOTM.

For example, last week I bought a new pair of jeans. I brought the size 12 in to try on and they were too big – yes really. I felt amazing. I wore my fabulous new size 10s (yes 10!) out to dinner with the OH for his birthday and felt so slim! He even used the word “tiny” – I’ve never been called tiny in my life! (Tiny is a relative term – I’m no Cheryl Cole – but if I’m tiny in comparison to what I was then I’ll take that thank you very much!)

Fast forward one week and my good friend TOM is knocking on the door. Today I’m wearing the same jeans. They are still a size 10 (very careful not to shrink these ones in the wash!) and I have STS this week therefore, one would suppose, I am still the same size as I was last week, yes? So, why is it that I’m sitting here now feeling bloated and fat when last week I felt great. That makes no sense at all!

I’ve said before that I’m an “all or nothing” girl which is why the Dukan principles have worked for me, I like rules – but when you take that to the other end of the spectrum I think it is what has caused my relapses. The sensible woman in me can see that this is TOM talking, I have obviously not ballooned in a week so I am not going to throw in the towel and pig-out for the weekend. But it has really opened my eyes to how much “having a fat day” can affect me

I think you have summed up in this post the struggle that many of us have in how we react to our image of ourselves and how we "forget" all our hard work and effort at the first sign of anything "negative".
It's so much easier to fall off the waggon on a diet when you feel fat or bloated, because it means you can eat your comfort food and run back to the shelter of all of the bad habits you have had for so long.
It's much harder to stay on the narrow, straight path to a healthy weight, and especially so when you feel heavy or bloated. I haven't mastered it yet, but I intend to at least get better at this during Dukan.

Great post. Worst still, an unjustifiably bad weigh in can also make one lose the plot, yet still the doctor advises daily weighing. I've noticed that if I'm having a "fat day", justified or not, I tend to wear larger less close fitting clothes, and then feel like a big fat lump all day!

I did just that Monday and Tuesday this week, and nearly lost the plot (and in fact DID join two queues to buy "non Dukan food", but was saved by their length and no time!)

Yes I definitely agree your comment here – one of the reasons that I moved to Conso early is because I was getting obsessed with the numbers on the scales and losing sight of how far I’d actually come. My reaction every morning was “oh no I’ve STS” or better again “oh no, I’ve ONLY lost 1 pound” – conveniently forgetting the fact that I’m now actually lighter than I’ve ever been in my whole adult life!

I’ve always tried to judge my progress on the way my clothes fit rather than how much I weigh because really, that’s the most important thing. But when the same clothes make you feel great one day and huge the next – well how are you supposed to win that battle!!

I think my problem is that I’ve been “fat” so long that I can’t actually believe that I’m no longer fat if that makes sense. My dream since I was 16 years old was to be a size 10 but now that I am I’m making excuses for it! My excuse for the jeans was that they’re a different fit so they’re “not really a 10” - my excuse for the few cheap bits I’ve picked up since I had to dump my bigger clothes was that they’re only from Primark and they don’t do proper sizes in there…. I have this fear that I still look bigger than everyone else so if I say I’m a size 10 everyone will think “Er there’s no way she’s a ten, is she kidding herself”

Teasey said:

Yes I definitely agree your comment here – one of the reasons that I moved to Conso early is because I was getting obsessed with the numbers on the scales and losing sight of how far I’d actually come. My reaction every morning was “oh no I’ve STS” or better again “oh no, I’ve ONLY lost 1 pound” – conveniently forgetting the fact that I’m now actually lighter than I’ve ever been in my whole adult life!

I’ve always tried to judge my progress on the way my clothes fit rather than how much I weigh because really, that’s the most important thing. But when the same clothes make you feel great one day and huge the next – well how are you supposed to win that battle!!

I think my problem is that I’ve been “fat” so long that I can’t actually believe that I’m no longer fat if that makes sense. My dream since I was 16 years old was to be a size 10 but now that I am I’m making excuses for it! My excuse for the jeans was that they’re a different fit so they’re “not really a 10” - my excuse for the few cheap bits I’ve picked up since I had to dump my bigger clothes was that they’re only from Primark and they don’t do proper sizes in there…. I have this fear that I still look bigger than everyone else so if I say I’m a size 10 everyone will think “Er there’s no way she’s a ten, is she kidding herself”

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That makes perfect sense, Teasey. We become so used to seeing ourself in a certain way that we can't believe that we've changed - even when the evidence is staring back at us in the mirror.