Rather recently I made a YT video about whats been going on with me in terms of weight loss and being an active part of the YT Weight Loss Community. I came to some conclusions that I think were really great. My first conclusion was that, at this point I have already surpassed my original weight loss goals. I remember when I first started out I said to myself that if I could just get back into my size 12 jeans, I would be satisfied. Well, here I sit, wearing size 10's and they're a bit baggy (which leads me to believe I may now be fitting into certain size 8's). So, in that aspect I have acheived my goal. Secondly, I realized that I have acheived my goal of becoming athletic. When I first started out I was someone who would only run if it was to save her life. I have never been someone to get up on a Saturday morning and go for a run.....UNTIL NOW! I am now someone that I would categorize as athletic. And the best part is, I'm athletic because I WANT to be, not because I HAVE to be. If the above two examples are not progress/accomplishments....then I don't know what is.
And recently, meaning within the past week, I have realized that I'm happy and very comfortable with where I'm currently at. My weight has been hovering between 167-170lbs. I even saw it go up a bit to 172lbs, but I'm okay with that. The past week, I have NOT gone to the gym but maybe one time and I'm okay with that too. Why? Because there are certain factors in my life that are now beginning to take precedence over weight loss. I realized a very important fact: THATS OKAY! Its pkay for certain things in your life to be MORE IMPORTANT than losing weight. IT IS! Now, I don't necessarily consider myself to have fallen off the wagon..... in fact, I don't think that at all. Healthy eating and correctly measuring out my foods is apart of my everyday life! And the fact that I'm feeling crumby and WANTING to go to the gym to work up a good sweat only PROVES that I'm now a person who enjoys being active and WANTS to be active. THIS IS GREAT!!!
So, what is it thats taking over my life right now? School. Plain and simple. Last week I had 3 papers and an exam laid on me and they are all due within the next month. These are not just simple assignments. These assignments require intense legal research and analysis, which means I'll be glued to my computer with research and writing for the better part of my days for the next few weeks. Hey, what can ya do? Thats life! I think its important for all of us to realize that its not always going to be possible to focus 100% of our efforts on health and weight loss. Its just not realistic. The best that many of us can do is just TRY to eat healthier foods. TRY to grab for a water instead of a diet soda. TRY to go for a walk instead of relaxing on the couch. What I'm saying here is that sometimes weight loss HAS to take a NECESSARY back burner. That doesn't mean we're failing, because its still there! We're still completely aware of it and aware of our goals and aware of what we need to do, but for right now...in the present moment, something else might be more important. For me, its school. For someone else it might be a new job, or moving into a new house, or welcoming a new addition to their family. There are MANY things that take a tremendous amount of work and focus, thereby sucking up our motivations for weight loss.
But here's the most important part. We can't feel bad about this. We cannot let ourselves feel like a "failure" for not going to the gym 5 days a week like we used to when we had the time. I did this today. I woke up and had every intention of going to the gym (even though I had a raging headache). Then I glanced at my school planner and realized there were a lot of these assignments piling up and that it would be much more beneficial to me to focus on getting this school work done. I'll be very honest here and admit to you all that my first thought was, 'Wow. What a fat ass loser I'm being lately.' Then I sat back and worked on my mental health. I asked myself, 'Why do I automatically think this way? Is it really that bad of a thing for me to put off a workout in order to get my education in line?' I came to the conclusion that no, its not that bad. And there's always things I can do to be healthy. So, instead of working out today, I'm doing my school work and I've told myself that I'm going to eat 100% healthy today. Watch my portions, eat wholesome foods, and most importantly, NOT partaking of any candy or goodies tonight during trick or treating. Thats the best I can do right now. Tomorrow, I can get up and go to the gym. Today? Thats not really an option. And thats okay. I'm not giving up, NOT AT ALL. I'm just prioritizing.
So, in conclusion (I guess), I'm just trying to say: Lets not beat ourselves up about being busy. Because, what happens when we beat ourselves up? We feel bad and then we turn to food to make us feel better, then we gain more weight, then we feel even worse, so we turn to more food, and the vicious cycle goes on and on and on. So, stop the cycle. Don't feel bad about being busy and missing your activity for today. Instead, make a plan. (Yep, I'm a big planner.) Then work that plan. Sometimes, thats the only thing that saves me from going off the deep end.
I'm sure there's no surprise that I'm commenting first, or so quickly.
ReplyDeleteI understand where you're coming from because I've been there several times. I've said many times that for me, 2011 was a critical time to really go after the fat-burn, because it was/is a place in my life with stability and reasonable stress-levels where I knew I could focus and keep at it pretty consistently. That has not always been the case. There are times in one's lives where it becomes hard to focus on being perfect all the time, or even most of the time. Sometimes the best I could do is track the weight as it slowly rose. As sad as that sounds, it was good that at least I was tracking it and not ignoring it.
The danger though, at least for me, is to gradually see old habits return, slowly and almost unnoticed, until eventually it dawns on you that you're no longer the active person you were. Then sometimes it seems very hard to get back, especially if stresses continue to hit. Planning is crucial I think, as well as periodic check-ins on your weight to keep that knowledge going of where you're at.
My hope, for me at least (but I'd hope it would be the same for us all) is that once the weight goal/fat loss target is reached, I'll be able to really go on much more of an auto-pilot again. Dropping the tracking and the constant thinking. But still doing weigh-ins and still knowing that at any time I may have to re-tune and lose fat again. Still, that's better, I think, than being in a steady loss-regime that I'm in now. It IS tedious and tiring and frankly boring after awhile. And yet if we take our attention away even for awhile, it seems as if the fat cell refill almost instantly! It's crazy.
I wish you luck as usual and again I appreciate your being there with me this year.
I do agree with you on everything here. Which is why I'm simply stating that, maybe Weight LOSS can't always be number one our list of things to do (at least it can't be number one for me right now) but Weight MAINTENANCE and Healthy Living can ALWAYS be a fore-runner in our lives and whats important to us. And you're right! There probably will be times where I see myself falling into bad habits. But its more important (for me) that I keep on top of those bad habits and mitigate them whenever and where ever possible. Thats the best any of us can do.
ReplyDeleteI think I've conditioned myself to the realization that my weight will always have to be a constant point of some amount of focus in my life. Meaning: I'll never be one of those people that just doesn't give their weight a second thought. That will never be me. I believe I'm genetically predisposed to being heavier. In order to keep that genetic dispostion in order, I need to always be thinking about what I'm eating and how much I'm eating and so on, and so on. And THAT is not tedious to me. I think because its just "apart of my life and what I do". So, for now...I'm focusing on that. I'm making it a point to be very careful with my food choices everyday (especially on days when I don't have the time to go to the gym or go for a run) and just try my best to aqueeze in some work out time 3 to 4 days a week. For now, thats what I CAN do. I can't allow myself to dwell on the things that I CANNOT do because of my busy schedule. Do what you CAN. Thats my new motto.
As always, thank you very much for your speedy responce and input! You KNOW I value it greatly. Now, if you'll excuse me...I need to get back to watching YOUR video! ;)
Wow....typos are rampant in my comment above! lol
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