A thought occurred to me today as I thought about my journey:
I have this up on my wall to reminder myself to take baby steps and to not try to go from 0 to 100 only to fizzle out and end up right back at square one as I have hundreds of times in the past.
As I’ve shared in a previous post, my approach this time is to work on changing my habits and how I respond to life’s circumstances. That little saying that I have on my wall helps me not to cut out everything I enjoy all at once and not to go to the gym and try to kill myself the first few week of getting back in the swing of things.
Weight loss has been a struggle for me all of my life and I am finally at the point where I recognize that it’s not so much about what I’m eating as it is about what’s eating me. When my life is out of control so is my eating. So when I say I’m making lifestyle and habit changes that’s exactly what I’m doing, all the way around and not just in the kitchen. How I handle stress, being sure to create some balance in my life, setting boundaries and not allowing others to “should” on me. It all goes together.
I am taking the time to enjoy the process. I am not in a rush to get to the finish line because I realize that the finish line is really just the starting point. Whatever I do to lose the weight is the same thing I’ll have to do to keep it off, so I’m not drastically cutting calories. I’m not depriving myself of the things I love and I’m not trying to be superwoman at the gym. I am taking progressive steps and I am concentrating on making better choices and making improvements everyday. Some days I’m on point, some days I am not. The days that I’m not doesn’t make me a bad person and it doesn’t mean the day is a wash. It simply means that I made a choice and tomorrow or at my next meal I’ll make a better one.
I’m at a point in my life where it’s either now or never. I believe this time is a winner. I’m not even considering any other options. But I’m also being gentle with myself in the process. No more beating myself up. No more doubting whether or not I can do it. No more seeing myself other than the beautiful and deserving person I am.
Kirsten says
Awesome post and I can relate in so many ways. We’ve got this!
Stacey Strickler says
Hey Kirsten! You are absolutely right. We definitely have this!!