A healthy and fit lifestyle. This is what we are all really desiring here right? This is the overall goal. Sure weight-loss may seem like the goal but really, weight loss is just a part of being healthy and being fit; if we are ever going to maintain any substantial weight loss than it will be through staying fit and healthy- these 2 things are really what are goals are about right? Right.
For many of us when we set out on this journey or are in the beginning phases we learn what it means to be healthy and fit and what it will take to get us there. We learn what foods should be avoided and which ones are full of nutrients and should be added to our lives. We set goals, we understand that getting active is a necessary component to success on this journey, and we implement a whole list of new changes into our lives- all for the purpose of becoming more healthy, losing weight, and becoming fit.
And at the same time that we are learning all of these new things and changing we begin to come up against our old habits; we realize that the old cravings don't just go away because we have bought healthy food, we don't suddenly have an extra hour in the day to exercise just because we intend to, and all of the situations, events, and circumstances in our lives don't bow down in submission to the new healthy way of life that we seek. Simply put- it's hard.
Inevitably at the beginning stages of our journey's we run into situation after situation where we "screw up"- we eat wayyy too much food at a party that we hadn't planned on, life get's crazy and we find ourselves not going to the gym for a week, or we find it too hard to silence the voice of our favorite food calling to us from the fridge and we give in- and then we feel like failures. And doesn't it seem that every time one of these circumstances occur and we have totally screwed up that it is just further proof that we will never be able to change- that no matter how many goals we set or how badly we want it- it's not going to happen. Yes, it's easy to feel like that when we've been living below our potential.
But you know what I figured out this morning (aka- the ephiphany)? Every one of those screw ups are ABSOLUTELY 100% NECESSARY to our long-term success. No joke. It's absolutely crazy to think that someone can live 20 or 30 years of their life one way and then all of a sudden completely switch everything about their lives because they made 1 decision.
Like I said, life doesn't just bow down and submit to our goals- we have to navigate through life with our goals being our guide; and if we want our healthy and fit lifestyles to be something that is forever, we've got to learn to overcome those things that will FOREVER be there to try and trip us up. And how on earth can you learn to navigate these things if you never experience them? I am absolutely convinced that the pitfalls that happen to us in these beginning phases (and sometimes middle) are just a part of the process.
I don't know who ever told me that only those who are perfect can succeed at losing weight- but that is surely what I believed and what I'm sure many of you still (even subconsciously) believe. Well I am hear to tell you today that is a BIG FAT LIE. Life comes packed full of social peer pressure eating situations, disappointing scale results, injuries, family craziness, and disappointment and those things should be viewed as GIFTS when encountered on this journey because they are necessary hurdles that have got to be jumped in order to cross the finish line and stay there- and it doesn't matter how many times you have to try to jump over a specific hurdle- as long as you eventually jump it!
I think everyone has a different set of necessary lessons that they've got to learn (and fail from) in order to be successful, but there are lots that are common to us all; some that I've failed in, learned from, and jumped over in this journey so far have been:
- Wanting to eat because I am emotional and stressed.
- Fearing what others may think of me at the gym.
- Social peer pressure eating.
- Learning that a craving is a just a suggestion, not a command.
- Realizing that "cheating" in my food choices is really only cheating myself.
- Not allowing the # on the scale to determine how I feel about myself and how I'm doing.
- Not allowing the craziness of my schedule or circumstances to dictate my health.
- Move past motivation to dedication. I don't wait for goosebumps or surges of motivation to do something anymore.
- Fearing change.
I challenge you to look back at your journey thus far (and even where you are at now) and consider some of the challenges you've faced and the things that you've viewed as moments of failure; now redefine those things in your mind not as weakenesses that are going to come back to knock you on your butt at any moment, but as NECESSARY hurdles that you HAD to encounter in order to move forward. If you haven't been able to jump that hurdle yet, well figure it out! But don't get down on yourself just because you HAVE hurdles- they are NECESSARY!
When I do something that I'm not proud of or that I knew wasn't a step forward- I will do these 3 little steps so that I can jump over the hurdle in the future and not be knocked down by it again:
1) Accept that it was a DECISION I made and not the result of my circumstances, fate, or an accident.
2) Understand why I did it; was I feeling tired, was I just not thinking, did I just not care?
3) Plan for the future. If you continually are getting punched in the face by the same hurdle and you don't put a plan in place in order to jump it successfully in the future, why should you be suprised when the same thing keeps happening over and over again?
Accept- Understand- Plan.
Alright, hopefully I didn't bore you all too much but this was seriously something that I needed to figure out and write down. For those of you who have lost a significant amount of weight (Diane, Cammy, Dawne, etc.) maybe you can share your thoughts on this too! I am just so excited to view these things as I've formerly looked at as failures as necessary hurdles that I've jumped (or am going to jump) over on this road to success.
I leave you with some pics from this weekend:
This was my lunch today. Do you see the BROCCOLI!!?! HAHA- even though this portion is quite laughable, some of you know that this is a major accomplishment for me! No joke- this is the first time in the 4 months I've been on this journey that I have prepared a vegetable with a meal! Snaps to me! The verdict? I put some lemon juice and parmesan on top of them and ... it wasn't too bad. And you must know, me saying that probably means they taste wonderful- I just haven't developed a pallet for veggies just yet, but I'm not giving up! :)
And finally, here is a pic of my sweaty mug after my workout! I did 30 minutes on the elliptical, 15 on the cycle plus, 15 on the hybrid bike, and about 15 minutes of strength training- it was a bum kicker of a workout fo sho!Alright ya'll make this one great weekend! :)
p.s. I most likely won't be posting tomorrow, it's going to be a very full day but I'll see you all on Monday with a pic of my post-it note covered scale! Can't wait to see your scales as well!!!! :)
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