Why structure is more important than we think…
Whenever we work with someone for who is beginning a new diet or exercise program, we often see that lack of structure (among other things) has a lot to do with less-then-desired results. It seems to make sense, that those who are more detailed about what they are doing, those who track it on paper, will usually do better overall.
I’m not one to track everything, so I know that this is often a personality trait…to be very detailed about everything…or to just wing it. The problem is, when we have the best intentions to eat properly, our lack of detail often obscures what we are doing so much, that we often are not as good as we might perceive. This means, that we might eat really great for a day or two, and these two “perfect” days outshadow the days we are not-so-perfect. We end up losing track of how consistent we’ve been, although we know we did eat perfectly for some days during the week. So when we haven’t lost weight after a week, we try to think back to the days we ate really well, and we get frustrated that they didn’t make a difference…”what’s the point?” we might think to ourselves.
The same goes for exercise. Especially when we are trying to figure out what exercises really make a difference. When we do random exercises as they may pop into our heads at the gym, there becomes a sense of confusion about how our actions relate to our results, and we expect to see things happen really quickly…when we don’t see immediate results, we wonder if it’s worth it at all.
Ultimately, the inability to look at how our actions are tied to our consequences, leads to frustration, and we often give up…because we just don’t feel like we are getting anywhere.
So…whether we are detail-oriented or not, we must find some structure in order to feel like we have control over our results. This may be having a workout partner who’s better at it, or even a coach or trainer, or dietician who develops progress logs for you - so you can see how it all ties together. Ultimately, if we want to increase our chances for success, I think we need to face facts, that writing things down is going to make a big difference.
So…if you are frustrated with not getting very far…get a notebook, and start logging away!
I so agree with what you said about logging - food and exercise in the beginning especially - to see what you are actually doing.
I also think that you have to write down what your food and exercise plans ARE - so you know what you are doing.
I would add another step in there - to set up a regular time (once a month, once a quarter, whatever) to go back through the data and look at what is happening (or not happening perhaps) and see if you are:
doing what you said you were going to do
if what you are doing - is working for you
I think of this as reality check or looking at the big picture.
I also have found - for me - that CLASSES are a big help. If I sign up (even if it is free) - and they are expecting me - I GO. Classes are a good way of getting into a routine.