Slow and Steady Wins the Race

I sometimes (o.k. often) have to remind myself that my weight didn't come on in a week, or even a few months and it will likely take much longer than a week or a month to take it back off.  I had a lot of experiences that helped me grow emotionally over the last couple of years.  That emotional growth also led to physical growth as I ate my way through the emotional growth! 

Back in September I started exercising and changing my eating.  I decided I didn't want to weigh myself for a good long time.  I wanted the results to be astounding, jaw dropping.  I stepped on the scale one month later.  The results were astounding and jaw dropping all right!  I weighed exactly the same.  To the ounce.  I was more than devastated and I felt defeated.  I stopped exercising and stopped caring as much about what I was eating.   

After a couple of months I felt really down.  I was tired.  My clothes were getting tight.  I decided I had to face reality.  In mid-January I stepped on the scale again. I was the heaviest I have ever been (not pregnant).  I even weighed more than when I delivered two of my kids.  It was like I pulled my head out of the sand and I wanted the weight off immediately.  I started making changes again.  I started eating well and exercising again.  I decided that this needed to be a lifestyle change, not anything with a deadline.  I was just a few weeks into my new commitment to health when I got the phone call about the 100 day heart challenge.  Perfect timing.  This program is such a balanced approach to health and weight management.  Even though the challenge is only 100 days, I will learn the skills that can help me for a lifetime. I know I can't control the scale, but I can control how often and how hard I work out, how much and what foods I choose to put in my mouth, and my attitude.  The changes I'm making will be beneficial to my body, even if it takes a while for the scale to catch up with my progress. 

I know there will be set backs (like Friday night, for instance, when a complete stranger asked if I was pregnant) but I just need to realize that this is working.  I feel great.  It feels so good to work muscles that have been sleeping for a long time.  My mind feels more clear than it has in a long time.  Working out is my anti-depressant.  The foods I am eating are satisfying and delicious (and I'm learning how to work in my favorite junk foods in small quantities without binging).  So when the set backs come, I need to learn the lesson that the tortoise taught: Slow and steady wins the race.