After class I was talking to my instructor Tricia about my journey. She's also noticing the changes that I have been having. It's pretty awesome that people are starting to notice. During out conversation it came up what I'm doing differently this time around. This is the longest I have EVER stuck to any kind of diet, workout, healthy regime, etc. So I just wanted to share with everyone again what it is that is working this time. I know I've cheated a few times but I have always gotten back on track. It's not like every other time. I would work at it, lose a little, then go back to what I was doing that caused me to gain the weight in the first place. Well, here's what's different this time and what is working for me:
1. Don't Set Big Goals
- In the past I always set these weight loss goals that would never happen. I would always think I need to lose this much by this day, or I need to lose this much every week. I always lose a decent amount pretty quickly at first. I then think that I can lose as quickly every week so when I do the math I would think I could lose this rather unrealistic amount in a short amount of time. Of course that wasn't the case. I wouldn't reach the goals that I set and would get discouraged and give up. This time around I'm taking it one day at a time. I'm accepting any and all losses whether they are big numbers or even half a pound. What's key is that I'm not gaining. I still have a ways to go but I am making progress each week.
- So many times I've started some kind of weight loss program in the hopes of bettering the way I look. I was unhappy with the way clothes fit or the fact that I couldn't climb stairs without losing my breath. Every other attempt has always been about my body image. Well I'm really good at lying to myself. I am really good at hiding what I don't like. However, this body image mindset was always so superficial and short lived. I would lose weight and become happy with that small weight loss. Not this time. Getting healthy sounds and IS so much more important than being able to fit into a certain size. You can't argue with science. Everyone knows that your life expectancy exceeds if you're healthy, the risk of diseases are lower if you are healthy, and pretty much any aspect of your life will be good if you are healthy. So this time around I've gotten rid of the superficial body image idea. I'm focusing on getting healthy for myself and of course for my family. My kids do what I do. All my past BAD eating habits have already been passed down to them. As I'm learning to be healthy, so are they. It is imperative for me to become healthy not only so that I can live and be with my family but so that they learn these important lessons as well. So I will wear what fits and not worry about the size of my pants. The size of my clothes will lessen as I become healthier. Being healthy is the true reward.
3. Don't Do Too Much Too Fast
- A big reason for a lot of my past failures is that I would push myself too hard too fast. I would start working out and dieting like crazy. After a while my body would just get tired of it. I also have a horrible problem called "laziness". It's really quite awful. I tend to give into my laziness too quickly. In the past I would start working out everyday a couple of times a day, and dieting hardcore. This time I spent almost a month introducing working out and being active into my daily life. I spent the time finding out what worked and what didn't work. I learned what workouts I could and would actually stick to. Instead of doing something by myself at home, I went out of my comfort zone and found one of the best things that has helped me so much in this journey...yes, you guess it...Zumba! Going to live classes and meeting wonderful people who all want the same goal and finding such inspiration in the instructors has been the winning formula for me. I have never been this active for this long in any other past attempt at losing weight. After spending some time getting used to working out I started focusing on my eating. Taking it one step at a time instead of a huge bunch of stuff all at once has really been a winning formula for me.
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