Fitness folk: what do you do when you fixate?

[Anonymous]

In terms of fixating on something negative. How do you correct the problem?

I only weigh myself like once or twice a week. The middle of it, and the end.

I had a bad week in terms of eating more than I normally do (which would actually be GOOD because I usually only eat dinner, but it's bad because it was shit food) and when I weighed myself I noticed that I gained 1lb.

And I can't stop fixating on it, even though I know it's not healthy to be obsessing over a single pound. I'm beating myself up over eating more than usual this week.

A lot of people keep saying "maybe / probably it's muscle." which I can reluctantly see since I upped the amount of days I went running this week as well as the mileage.

But im still fixating on the negativity of the increased food intake.

So how do you break yourself out of fixating on something bad that impacted your diet or workout? Because I need to shake this.

[kaylaS91]

I don't weigh myself. Haven't done so since probably... grade 10 or something. For the same reason as what you mentioned in the write-up. I'd get way too stressed if I'd supposedly gain a pound or two overnight, leading to my skipping meals and ultimately gaining weight. Being completely miserable.

The weight gain could be for far too many reasons to count. Could be muscle, could be water weight. Could be due to the difference in where you placed your feed on the scale each time. Could be due to bloating resulting from where you are in your cycle...

So yeah. I don't weight myself. The best way for me to track how my diet/fitness progress is going is seeing how my clothes feels, plus taking body pics on a regular basis helps as well. I make sure to take most before breakfast or anything and then can compare.

[Mustachekitteh]

Maybe measure each part of your body and keep up with that too. So if you end up gaining weight but shrinking in size it will make you feel better.

[Asker]

I don't have the proper equipment for correct readings for measuring each body part.

Though you're right that probably would make me feel better.

[Mustachekitteh]

Plus it will help you know if the weight gain is caused by muscle gain.

[BoobMan]

I hear you. I think the best way is to choose something else to fixate on. Weight is a tough metric because as you say, you can't tell if what's happening is more muscle (good) or more fat (bad). Plus, an amount like 1 lb is basically rounding error in the grand scheme of things so isn't really worth obsessing over. So instead, choose a metric tied to your athletic performance. Like how fast you can run a mile, 5k, 10k or whatever distance matters for you. For me, I'm currently trying to switch focus from weight/body fat percentage, to the athletic result of weight lifted on various exercises. Hope that helps.

[Melcart23]

I have always believed in weighing myself every single day. The reason I believed in that was because if I see I'm up 5 oz. or 1 pound, I can take that off easily. But if I let a week go by, I may be up 5 pounds and that's harder to fix. Now, I pretty much never weigh myself because I go by how I feel. If I weighed 400 pounds and felt amazing, that would be fine for me. Secondly, I guess this is just general and basic, just be happy and confident. You're a pretty girl and should be happy.

[Asker]

I don't think I could handle weighing myself every day, I would get obsessed with the numbers game.

And, I typically am happy and semi confident, but this whole situation is just making me pissed off at myself lol

Thank you though. ☺️

[Melcart23]

You're fine. Don't sweat it too much👍🏽

[Hans222]

To avoid stress over it, focus on the solution: this week eat normally and do some sports... and become angry when you crave that biscuit (like: NO WAY YOU GOBBLER!).
And stay away from that balance until 2 weeks from now. Lock it up and give someone the key :D

[NerdInDenial]

Working out and eating is a lifestyle not a quick fix thing. People will have bad days and go on occasional binges, but that's okay. You just have to go back to your routine. It's when those binging days become the routine is when you have issues. I suggest you fast for a half a day then continue on your normal schedule

[ConsultantIsBack]

I'm always fixating and critiquing my body. But I know nutrition and fitness to the point I know what to do to work on an area. It's all self-education, so I'd suggest just always reading up on diets, what to eat/what to avoid, fitness routines and tips, etc. Make it a lifestyle :)

[Phoenix98]

I just simply tell myself it's no big deal I'll read up on some info, educate myself on the matter and work 2,3,4 or 5 times harder to fix the problem and make improvements, progress.

[Decentguy]

i dont stress that much about my diet, i do cheat meal once a day. but if i do cheat meal more than once a week then i get really stress about it

[Anonymous]

Just look to the future and learn from your mistakes this past week

[RaggaMon]

I have an ice cream to cheer myself up!

[Asker]

You have fun with that, I'll just end up even more pissed off at myself.

[RaggaMon]

I think people approach it all wrong. Fitness is a long term, life long thing, within that context; what happens in a week is inconsequential. You've got an entire lifetime to burn dat ice cream off whenever you want!

[Asker]

I know it's a long term, lifestyle change. But I'm only at the beginning of the journey which is why I'm so annoyed lol

[RaggaMon]

That's coo, just as long as you're not at the beginning of a life long journey of annoyance. lol

[anonman32]

i dont know, never had that problem.

[Anonymous]

just masturbate