To Victory

[Sigrikr]

Admittedly, dropping the ball during my first attempt at a six-week challenge rather disheartening. I imagine I'm far from the only person that discovered NF, and, with a belly full of fire, attempted to reign in years of poor habits in one fell swoop.

With that initial fire all but squelched, I stand today still wanting to become the physically and mentally impressive creature I know I'm meant to be... But instant gratification and excuses continue to waylay my quest.

One specific hurdle, and a major one at that, is that I tend to lose my will to follow through on good habits the moment I set foot home after work. I've tried numerous times over numerous weeks to set a clear path to victory, only to find myself quickly abandoning those plans in favor of one more episode of GoT or another half hour of Minecraft. I'm aware that choosing those activities over exercise is detrimental, and that my tendency to mindless overeating increases in kind.

Big why in hand, game plan in my pocket, how do I keep this belly ful of fire lit beyond my front door, and see myself to finish line? It is plenty easy to think a good game where I can't immediately act, but following through is the bane of my existence.

Here goes nothing.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Try starting small to build successes. You don't take on Bowser in the first few seconds of Super Mario Bros. You have to stomp that first goomba and get that first mushroom.  Set some measurable, realistic goals that don't overwhelm you for your first challenge, so you can nail the challenge, then slightly increase the difficulty level.  Success is a great motivator, so set yourself up to succeed.

 

You got this.

[Sigrikr]

Thank you for the words of encouragement!

How small of a goal is too small? I think my initial 6WC was too ambitious, making very little room for error, and consequently easy to declare it out of reach and stop the push. However, I don't want I set goals that are borderline trivial, if that is a legitimate thing (eg one healthy home cooked meal a week). I would guess there is a frequency threshold that has to be met to actually build a habit.

I understand that diet should be the primary focus at the outset, but I really want to build a consistent exercise habit as well (I crave it, at least when I enter that fitness headspace). Before teeing off on another set of goals, I feel like I need to figure out what is reasonable at this point, and not under or over ambitious.

[northman88]

I don't think your first challenge can be "too small" - I did the exact same thing you did: I set a specific goal with a specific number (gain weight to 187 lbs by June 21) and instead I changed it to "gain weight consistently for 6 weeks straight".

 

It allows room for some failure (too strong a word) while still giving you the feeling of accomplishment if you're able to hit your more lenient goal.

 

Perhaps a good starting goal would be to exercise for at least 30 minutes before sitting down for gaming/TV sessions for 6 weeks - that allows for a workout to be anything from a short, brisk walk to weight-training. It may also help in creating more of a routine to fight that "after work laziness" (I suffer from it too heh).

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Thank you for the words of encouragement!

How small of a goal is too small? I think my initial 6WC was too ambitious, making very little room for error, and consequently easy to declare it out of reach and stop the push. However, I don't want I set goals that are borderline trivial, if that is a legitimate thing (eg one healthy home cooked meal a week). I would guess there is a frequency threshold that has to be met to actually build a habit.

I understand that diet should be the primary focus at the outset, but I really want to build a consistent exercise habit as well (I crave it, at least when I enter that fitness headspace). Before teeing off on another set of goals, I feel like I need to figure out what is reasonable at this point, and not under or over ambitious.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the frequency, thing, that's how I started out. northman88 is right, you can't start too small. If you find yourself bored with how easy things are you can ramp up the goals a little bit. You will feel much better adjusting your goals up rather than down.  Remember, you are setting yourself up to succeed.

 

You GOT THIS!