Slow and steady ...
Sorry I've been missing for a while. First, my computer at work was going so slow, I could hardly stand to work on it. Then it spent 3 days in IS while they tried to figure out what was wrong with it. It's back now, and it's working great, but I have a mountain of work that just keeps growing. So there hasn't been a lot of time to post much.
Today's entry is primarily a response to Laurie's post from Monday talking about her slow weight loss. At first I was just going to write a comment, but then I figured it would get way too long, so I'm just using this topic for my blog entry today. No, it's not exactly quilt related, but, oh well! One of those sayings that has stuck in my head over the course of my weight-loss journey is "slow and steady wins the race." Well, okay, but just how slow is slow? I know all of that stuff about how I didn't gain it all overnight, so I won't lose it overnight. That's a given. But what really is a reasonable expectation? I embarked on my journey with what I thought was a reasonable goal of losing 2 lbs. per week on average. For the first 7 months or so everything was moving along just the way I'd planned it. But then it happened - the dreaded plateau! I spent the next 6 months in misery trying to get my scale to budge. I ate more, ate less, exercised more, changed my exercise routine, walked slower and longer, walked faster - all to no avail. I was stuck. Laurie, boy do I feel your frustration because I've been right there. When the scale finally started moving again, it was all at a much slower pace. I've been at this for 20 months now and I truly never would have thought it would take me this long to lose the first hundred lbs. I think if that thought had occurred to me, I might never have started.
But something interesting has happened to me over that time and I've sort of reassessed the goal. When you start losing weight, people are always asking what your goal is. I've always been too embarrassed to actually come out and tell people I want to lose 150 lbs. but there you have it. The thing is over the course of time I've realized that that is not really the goal at all. My real goal is to be a thin person - to make choices like a thin person, to be active like a thin person, to stay a thin person. I've been a fat person most of my life. My body knows how to be fat and it wants to go back to being fat. I have proof of that because I've lost 50+ pounds more times in my life than I can count, but I just keep putting it all back on and then some more. So I honestly think the slow progress is helping me in the long run, because I'm acquiring new eating habits. My body is learning how to stay at this weight. For me that is a very big deal. I've learned to celebrate the small losses and even staying the same from week to week because any time I don't gain, I've won. Ultimately the hardest battle is not losing it; it's keeping it off - FOR GOOD!
posted by Marilyn @ 12:21 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Very insightful post that I am sure will cheer many people on. You have a wonderful attitude that weight loss isn't all about pounds, but also decisions, energy, and maintaining where you are.
Cheers!
Evelyn
You are right on Marilyn. It took me about 8 months to lose 37 pounds, and I was feeling very good about it. My mistake was going to a personal trainer to get an updated workout program. I liked the workout program but she changed my diet. I couldn't stick to it at all because I couldn't understand it. When I gave up on it - and had gained about 8 pounds - I couldn't seem to get back on track with what I'd been doing before. So here I am - having gained about 32 of that back. You are definitely inspiring me. I should certainly be able to do this again. All it takes is for me to decide that I REALLY want to do it.
Your attitude and personal outlook is super!
Bravo! Marilyn for being so brave and putting it down in black and white for all the world to read -and you are right on...it is all about changing the inside as well as the outside. I have a friend who succeeded and is keeping it off now for over a year-because she bought into changing her eating habits and sticking to the exercising long after reaching her goal weight. thanks for your inspiration!
Marilyn
Congrats on sticking with your plan, no matter how many times it's updated or changed. Getting started is the first and hardest step, sticking with it is the second and hardest step. Nothing is easy!
I am going to give you another tool to use that's helped me tremendously since December. Go to www.nutrawatch.com and look around. The site is free to use, and you can enter what your goals are (% of protein, fat, carbs) and then track what you've eaten each day. I found that even though I was on track calorically, I was NOT on track with the fats or the cholesterols. I went ahead and upgraded for a whopping $14.95 a year so I could add more than 100 of my own recipes. This might be another good tool to add to your toolbox! Stay with it!
Thanks for the uplifting post... (I recently met the scale & lets just say that I am not happy.)
What a great and insightful post. I too have struggled with weight for most of my life. Thanks for sharing.
Keep up the good work.
Traci
The way you state the goal of "being a thin person" and "making choices like a thin person" seems so wise. If you look at my picture, I don't look like I have a weight problem, but it is a constant struggle, and I really think attitude is the secret. Good luck to you, and if you've kept going this long, you must be on the right track!
Post a Comment
<< Home