Comments on: Weblog as Therapy https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2015/12/weblog-as-therapy/ Tales from a down-shifted family - Making the most of modest means in West Wales Thu, 10 Dec 2015 09:07:20 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.1 By: Alan Cole https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2015/12/weblog-as-therapy/#comment-38516 Thu, 10 Dec 2015 09:07:20 +0000 http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=20593#comment-38516 In reply to Simon.

Thanks Simon, all good advice of course and I will try to be a little careful with my food consumption over Christmas. However, I also really like this time of year and quite enjoy indulging too. I’m a bit of a foodie, I like cooking and baking, I like trying new things and I just like food, so it’s all a matter of balance. This weblog is all about our work-life balance really and we get it right most of the time. I have to get a food-training balance as well, whilst at the same time enjoying life and enjoying Christmas. As you well know, if the commitment and desire to do something isn’t really there then no amount of help from others, notes to oneself and hiding of treats is going to help. I have to be honest with myself and I don’t think I’m fully committed to having a Christmas that maximises my training objectives in lieu of Christmas goodies.

My strategy for Christmas is to enjoy it and to enjoy the extra food as well, without being stupid. Yes, I’ll eat too much, yes I’ll gain some weight, but I’ll console myself with the fact that as long as the damage isn’t too great I’ll be able to get it back under control come the New Year. I may lose out a small amount as far as reaching my maximum potential from a performance standpoint is concerned, but I’ll still have a good Christmas. If I can keep up the training intensity and volume then hopefully I’ll not end up huge! Maybe a relaxation of the rules for a while and a little lack in focus over Christmas will only allow me to tackle things head on with renewed resolve and greater commitment come 2016.

Now, where are those mince pies!! 🙂

Al.

]]> By: Alan Cole https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2015/12/weblog-as-therapy/#comment-38514 Thu, 10 Dec 2015 06:33:46 +0000 http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=20593#comment-38514 In reply to Simon.

NO PUDDING!!!!! Are you insane?? 🙂

]]> By: Simon https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2015/12/weblog-as-therapy/#comment-38511 Wed, 09 Dec 2015 22:42:41 +0000 http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=20593#comment-38511 Not a bad job, Alan, ha ha ha. Yes, writing a weblog is similar to diary-keeping, which is well known for its therapeutic quality, albeit with an obvious difference in privacy! Some would prefer to keep these thoughts to themselves, some to share; but with what you have at stake, Al – a challenge that requires mega commitment and the ability to self-regulate one’s behaviour in the face of competing drives and desires – it makes sense to enlist the help of others by first telling them about it!
That brings me to my main suggestion for the eating issue over Christmas: first, ensure all ‘treats’ are in difficult to reach cupboards or at least out of your most direct and frequent eye line (and even then, placed behind healthy alternatives), so that it becomes more difficult to succumb to your often unconscious desire for certain foods; next, get everyone else on board – maybe they’ll avoid buying certain foods, maybe they’ll eat their treats out of your sight, maybe your bday cakes can in fact be healthier alternatives…are you coming to the SES Christmas dinner? I’ll *not* have pudding with you!; third, yes, put up messages to yourself (and others) in prominent places so that the message seeps in and gradually convinces you to avoid undesired behaviours; finally, presuming you return to health, and I realise that all your training burns big calories, but can you not temporarily alter your training activities to be even more directed by that aim, before returning to your regular pattern in the new year? Oh, and can you insert certain foods &/or supplements into your diet over the next few weeks to assist with fat burning/metabolism? I’m sure you know what foods/supplements will do that, legally of course!
Ultimately, if you can exert self-control all year, and just look at your past achievements in the athletic domain for proof, then you can at Christmas, and you’ve also proven your ability to cope with setbacks even when they occur. Don’t worry about it, and continue to use your weblog as therapy!

]]> By: mum https://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/2015/12/weblog-as-therapy/#comment-38467 Tue, 08 Dec 2015 10:24:07 +0000 http://www.alananna.co.uk/blog/?p=20593#comment-38467 The Psychology sounds good to me and don’t forget training etc should be fun…..Well in my case of course that would mean no exercise at all, look at the damage I did just clapping!!

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