You are not a failure for not sticking with your diet!
It absolutely breaks my heart when I hear people talk about their past experiences with restrictive diets and how they ‘failed’ or ‘gave up’ or didn’t have ‘enough willpower.’ Diets simply do not work in the long term – and this has nothing to do with a failure of willpower.
If you’re someone who has tried various restrictive diet plans in an attempt to achieve weight loss, I’m willing to bet that you’ve expended more effort towards that pursuit than any other area of your life. I know so many people who have spent periods of time going without their favourite foods, going to sleep hungry, or waking up at 5 am to go to the gym. All these things take tremendous effort, and yet we blame ourselves and call ourselves lazy when we can’t keep up these strenuous behaviours!
Any diet or fitness plan that requires you to suffer is not one that you’re going to keep up in the long run. If your fitness plan leaves you nauseated, in pain, or generally miserable, you’re eventually going to quit. If your diet plan leaves you feeling restricted, deprived of your favourite foods, and unable to celebrate with food at social occasions, you’re going to stop following it. Because why would you stick to something that makes you feel mentally, emotionally or physically bad? Life should be about feeling good and enjoying yourself!
We’re not built to suffer, and no amount of willpower will make you stick with something you don’t enjoy in the long-term.
~“But if I don’t suffer through my diet and workout plan, how will I ever be healthy?!”~
If your health is something you’re interested in improving, I’m not saying you should abandon your efforts to do so. But instead of putting yourself through another restrictive diet plan that you won’t enjoy and are likely to quit, why not try living the healthiest life that you enjoy?
Move your body in a way that is enjoyable, and leaves you feeling good, so it becomes a positive part of your life that you look forward to. Eat foods that make your body feel good, but also eat foods that satisfy your emotional and social needs.
Choices that promote physical health should be part of a lifestyle that you enjoy, and be balance by choices that satisfy other non-physical health needs in your life. Eating cake on your birthday may not contribute to your physical health, but it certainly can contribute to your emotional and social health!
The healthiest life that you ENJOY is the only lifestyle that you’re going to maintain.
It doesn’t matter if someone else eats ‘better’ or exercises more. You are a different person, living under different circumstances and guided by different personal values! The healthiest life that you enjoy will be different than someone else’s, and that’s okay.
i don’t do reblogs except to complain at people but this blog is such a relief & basically the kind of health-related blog i want to see in the world, so.
Always nice to get feedback like this. It motivates me to keep this blog going, so thank you!
Mabel dies of old age, surrounded by her loved ones peacefully in bed some time after Henry goes. If Henry passes at 80ish, Mabel goes around 110-120ish, and dies of cancer.
Well, it did happen sometimes with Toby (R!Bill) and that was pure nesting behavior and cuddles, so what he thought about the “original” owner of the soul matters less than what he thinks of the current incarnation.
I imagine it’s because cats don’t show love the same way dogs do – like the Sisters don’t leap all over me when I get home, and they’re not as interested in cuddling. But they do clearly wait for me to get home, I can see them get up and stand watch on the sofa about 15 minutes before my usual home-eta time. They do fret about me when I’m lying down at times I don’t normally lie down, and they want to investigate whatever it is I’m eating even when they clearly don’t want to eat it themselves. It’s not overt love in the way dogs show it, it’s more cautious. And a lot of time they’re like “You’re fine, I’m gonna fuck off and do my own thing for a while” whereas dogs tend to be continually checking in to make sure nothing has happened.
Dunno why that is; I have theories but I’m not an animal scientist. Some of it probably has to do with their early exposure period being shorter than dogs’, so you statistically get more cats that can’t or won’t tolerate humans.
@why-animals-do-the-thing Do you have any insights to add or perhaps a link to a past post already addressing this?
I’d agree that a large part of it is likely how distinct their behavioral indicators of affection and attachment are from dogs. It’s not that cats don’t show it, but that they show it differently – it’s not even more subtle, just different and kinda cryptic if you’re only used to interpreting dog behavior.
There’s probably also a historical component to how we view cats, given things like the way they’ve been presented in literature and things like their association with witches (not the kitschy Halloween stuff, but things like The Great Cat Massacre from Paris in 1730). I haven’t done the research to be able to speak confidently about any specific historical influence here, but it’s worth keeping in mind the potential for cultural mentalities about cats to trickle down subtly into modern mentalities.
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