My NEW Heaven!

This morning was weigh day! I am so happy to report that I lost 4 pounds this week!!! I gained 2 last week, so I guess in reality, I only lost 2 "new" pounds, but that is ok! I'll take it. That makes my total loss 18 pounds since the 3rd of January. It's been a rough ride and had I not gotten off track when Sampson passed and then went on that hokie Herbalife diet, I probably would have been further along, but the main thing to keep in mind is that 18 pounds is still 18 pounds no matter how long it took. I just know that I am feeling so much better already!!!

I think sometimes when trying to lose weight, especially with the Biggest Loser as a part of our reality now, people are so quick to balk at 1, 2 or 3 pounds. Even when I say 18 pounds, it doesn't sound like a lot. The Biggest Loser has us so brainwashed that you should be losing 10, 15 or even 20 pounds a week, but that is not realistic and it's is not even really all that healthy to lose weight so fast. So, whenever I get to thinking that 1 pound isn't a lot, I have to give myself a visual. 4 sticks of butter is a pound. Put 4 sticks of butter together and tell me if you can't say that is a good amount of weight to shed off your body. It doesn't sound like a lot, but when you look at it, you can cleary see that it's pretty significant.

Even 5 pounds, which never sounds like a lot, is really a pretty good amount of weight. Next time you are at the grocery store, grab a 5 pound bag of potatoes and walk around the store with them for a while. Then when you put them down, notice how much lighter you feel. How much better does your back alone feel?

So, for me to gauge how much weight 18 pounds is, I look at and pick up my little dog Toolah who is 16 pounds. Well, because I have had dogs that are 70 pounds and 40 pounds, my little Toolah at 16 pounds seems to light and little. But when I look at her size and picture losing that much off my body, that is a good amount of weight to lose off your frame. And when we are on walks, and she decides that she doesn't want to walk anymore and I have to carry her the rest of the way home, I am so extremely relieved to put all 16 pounds of her down when I get home. That is enough weight over a short period of time, to start to give you some pain and stress over your knees and back.

So, today I have to say that I am truly happy with my success in many ways. Not only am I proud of losing 18 pounds, I am proud that I didn't give up last week after gaining 2.2 pounds. So many times that has been the time when I fall off the wagon because I get so discouraged because I know I worked hard all week and then to get on the scale and not see that reflected is really hard to take. It causes me to get frustrated and angry and last week I didn't really let it affect me. I just knew that diverting from my healthy eating lifestyle wasn't going to accomplish anything productive. It was just going to lead to more frustration and more weight gain which was going to lead me back to that vicious cycle which I finally feel like I am out of now!

I have truly come to believe that losing weight and being healthy is something that takes patience and effort. It means changing habits, not just for a temporary period, but it's about making changes that will stick with you the rest of your life. It's about learning how to eat sensibly, while making sure that you don't completely deprive yourself of the things you enjoy, it's about moderation. And most importantly, if you eat more calories in a day or at a specific meal, don't beat yourself up. Just eat less at the next meal and get right back in the game. There is no such word as cheating in my routine because that is a negative word that makes you feel guilty, and feeling guilty leads to more bad eating. If you eat a little more than you should, just cap it and move on. The important thing is to know how to recover.

I have been trying to lose weight for the last 15 years and as a result, I have gained more and more. It's just now that I am finally processing and using all the tools and techniques I have learned over the years. It's just now that I understand all that I have been taught, and it's just in these last few months that being healthy and fit is more appealing and rewarding to me than eating things I once believed were heaven to me. Now, my heaven is feeling healthy, energetic and confident!!!

Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland