Staying on track despite disruptions

[halfsasquatch]

First a quick background, 20 something college student living parents and trying to save up money between semesters. A few months ago after a doctor’s visit for a minor issue that could have been serious. I decided to try making some changes to get a better handle on my health. After a bit of thinking, being referred to this site by my sister, and a follow up chat with the doc. I decided to trying adding some light stretching exercises (for my back) and free-weight exercises + martial arts club; as well as adding one item of fruit or veg per day. Surprisingly (for me) the exercise was the first to go, when Orgo got crazy. But I was able to be pretty consistent with the diet... until finals week and move out and now I've pretty much fallen off the wagon completely. If I'm being completely honest this is a pattern for me; I make a commitment to better myself, make the changes, see progress for a couple weeks to months, then life gets crazy and it all gets undone. This is true for just about everything in my life, not just diet and exercise. What am I doing wrong?

[Zahirah]

I think the key here is the changes occur "when life gets crazy".  What's making life crazy?  What are you doing that you are no longer able to stick to your commitments to yourself?  Where is your energy going instead?

I have had similar issues in the past with not following through because things would just get so busy and out of hand that I stopped paying attention to my goals.  That's when I realized I needed to start setting some serious boundaries.The best example I can think of was in regards to my fitness.  I wanted to make fitness a priority, get into the best shape of my life.  But I found I never had the time that I wanted, I was always so busy with work and volunteering and my social life.  And It was killing my confidence.  At some point I was like, why the fuck am I doing all of this other stuff when they aren't a part of my goals?  I then made a commitment to making going to the gym non-negotiable.  You want to hang out?  Cool, but I can't on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday afternoons because that's my gym time.  You don't like it?  Fuck you, it's important to me.

 

So, have you set healthy boundaries and "non-negotiables" for yourself that focus on your goals?

 

[halfsasquatch]

Historically it's been academics, but also with college I find myself traveling back home a lot during breaks and I find it hard to plan what I eat when my routine is disrupted. It's not even eating out so much as it is having someone else doing the cooking and shopping and not having equipment set up the way I'm used to.

[Zahirah]

Yeah I encountered something similar when I visited my parents back in the states in March.  My mom kept wanting to make me all of the food she used to make and I didn't have all of my normal cooking stuff either.  I totally feel you.

Can you talk to your family about your food goals, go shopping or do the cooking with them (or even cooking for them sometimes), etc.?