At war with my mind

Based on last week and this week's diet and exercise, I've come to the realization that for me, weight loss is such a mental game.

I fully understand that I will lose weight when I eat right and exercise. Why is it then, that when I see a gain on the scale (even the smallest amount), I go from 60 to 0 mph in less time than it takes to say "cheeseburger"?? It seems so counter-intuitive. I say to myself, "No biggie, just work harder this week to stay on track...you have to if you're going to reach your goal." But then for some reason, staying on track is 10 times harder that next week. You'd think that with seeing a gain I would have much more motivation to keep at it. Not true. Not true at all. The diet and exercise go down the drain.

And then, when I see a loss I think, "Woo! It's working! Let's keep at it!" And the exercise is great, and I eat what I'm supposed to eat, when I'm supposed to eat it. I don't get it at all.

But then I read a little blurb in the article "Secrets of the Fittest" in the March issue of Self magazine:

"9. Praise your assets
Dragging it midworkout? 'I repeat a funny mantra like, "I have a great ass! I have a great ass!"' says Ingber, who also cues thoughts of sex and her latest crush to rev up her energy. 'It's sort of a joke, but when I think of how damn sexy I am, versus how I've got to get rid of cellulite, the positive message makes me want to sweat harder..."

Now that's definitely silly and I think her mantra is...something...but I think the general idea provides a good insight into why it is that I find I have so much more motivation when I see positive results.

Anyway, I've just been mulling this over in my head all week trying to think of how I'll deal with these setbacks long term. When I get to my goal weight I want to maintain it and I'll need to know how to beat my mind so that I can reach that long term goal.