While my weight loss has been more like a roller coaster than a nice, clean slant on a graph, one thing has been true ever since my start date: the beginning of the new year finds me up in weight and having to get back in the groove.
I’d bet the bank I’m not alone, here.
While I’m not in the situation of just having to start a weight loss program, I do have to master it before it explodes on me. That’s what I’ve been working on, this week: getting control of my eating, being realistic about what I need to be doing over the months to come to be back in weight loss mode, making sure I’m doing the right things in order to be successful.
Patience is a virtue. Or something.
Success is rarely accidental. No, it’s more like a juggling act, and sometimes you have to juggle chainsaws to make things work out right. Other times, things are surprisingly easy — so easy that you just know you’re doing something wrong.
The one consistent truth to success is that it takes work. Sure, there are some lucky souls who can drop weight easily and quickly, but they’re the exception to the rule; the rest of us are the rule, and then some.
That’s what I struggle with during the holidays. I get in a mindset where I’d like to have a few treats, knowing full well I’ll pay for it and accepting that it’ll take some time to get the effects of those treats off my hips and out of my system. But that’s a dangerous game; if you allow yourself treats and you’re in the wrong mindset, you just might never go back to embracing the necessary discipline to master weight loss. I am determined to keep that from happening to me, as it has happened so many times in the past.
At the risk of yet another metaphor, it’s a tightrope walk, but the more experience you have, the less likely you are to fall off. That’s where I’m at; the first few days back totally on plan, my body wants to go back to the treats and my stomach fights me, but things get a little bit easier each day I’m fully back in command.
The same is true if you’re just starting your journey — the first days are absolutely the hardest, and they often come with only slim rewards. Success takes planning, determination, a willingness to change, and being absolutely truthful with yourself.
If you’re taking your first steps right now, stay strong. Forget your long term goals for now; promise yourself this day, this meal choice, this moment, and take it to the limit.