One step back and 14 steps forward....TAKE CONTROL

Hello all,

Well I started this post back on April 25th when we returned from 5 days on the beach at Port Aransas.  We definitely had "fun in the sun".....got lots of rays and didn't pay a whole lot of attention to what I ate (well I did, but I don't feel like I did).  But I think everyonce in a while you need to get away from the routine and just enjoy.  I'm told that anyway and I'm trying really hard to accept that.  But when you return from such an adventure (mini-vacation) and even though you probably walked 4 miles a day on the beach.....when you return home and that darn scale says you've gained 6 pounds, it almost takes the fun out of the vacation. 

If you're like me and have been overweight all or most of your life....it really just breaks your heart when you stray away from your healthy eating and then miss a full week of exercise and the scale tells you that you may have thrown too much caution to the wind.  I knew before I stepped one toe on the scale that it would not be good.  I could feel the slight little snugness of my tank top!  It sometimes just seems so overwhelming.....like it's such a chore....this weight loss, healthy, fit thing.  But it just proves (once more) that this is not a 12 week sprint.  This is something I (and you) must work on every day.  It doesn't just happen by magic.  It (the weight) just doesn't stay off, if you stop the healthy routine you found that worked.

So lesson learned......yes you can go on vaction and yes you can occassionally while on vacation abandon your healthy eating and yes you can slack a few days on your exercise.....but........prepare yourself mentally for the reality that awaits you....accept it....and pick right back up where you left off.  Start eating healthy the day you get back and start back up on your exercise routine as soon as possible.

But I'm not going to dwell on that for the rest of this post.  What I want to talk about is how I want to figure out how I can inspire even one of you to be as excited about getting healthy and fit as I am.  I heard a song the other day (can't even think of the name of it right now)...but part of the words are "you get to choose if you win or lose".  Think about that for a minute.....YOU get to choose....and in the weight loss, getting healthy and fit...it is indeed all about you.  No body else can do it for you.  If you are a control person....this is perfect for you....if you're a person who never feels like they are in control...this is perfect for you too.  Because you can control what you eat, when you eat....and if you give it enough priority...why you eat.  You can control how much exercise you do.  You are the only one who knows what you want to look like and how you want to feel.  And I hope how you want to feel is healthy and fit far into your elder years. 

Now here are some honest 'from my heart' words...this is not my first rodeo!  Believe me I've been on this weight roller coaster all my life.  But something finally clicked with me.  This is something I have control over....(I saw you roll your eyes!)  I'm serious...I lost weight and found it...more than once and therefore always thought I have no control over this...I'm just no good at keeping the weight off.  It's because I was always letting someone else (someone elses diet) contol  my weight loss.  I never considered that this thing...this weight loss...this getting and STAYING fit and healthy was not about going on a diet.  It was something in my life I had to control and if I put my heart and soul into it, I could control.  I never let it click that not only did I have to eat healthier, but I had to combine that with exercise on a regualr basis (not just a walk every now and then when I thought uuuh I guess I should try to do some kind of exercise.  Being healthy and fit, controlling your weight and keeping it off has to become just like brushing your teeth everyday, just like taking a bath everyday, just like telling the people you love that you love them....every day.  It has to become a part of your life that you just do naturally everyday.  It has to become so engrained in your daily routine that you don't have to think about it.....Right now you are probably thinking that counting calories, getting weighed in every week, exercising every day (or at least 5-6 days a week) doesnt' seem "normal".  If you give this all you have, if you believe and work on it with determination and set resonable goals....you will get there and what will seem "not normal" is when you eat something unhealthy or you don't exercise. 

 I wish I could find the right words to explain or let you know how being fit and  healthy and having your weight under control feels.....this too I say from the heart....NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS FIT AND HEALTHY FEELS!

Again I see the eyes rolling..... :)   Don't think you can't do this...you can....I do eat apple crisp and yes I do eat Bill Miller's Chicken (it's a Texas thing) and yes I do love Baskin Robbins German Chocolate Cake ice cream.  But those are treats that I do allow myself to have from time to time because you will not be successful if you feel deprived....just eat healthy and exercise 90% of the time and treat yourself and rest 10% and keep after it....let it become second nature.

 

My kind of woman!!! Esther Tuttle, age 99 How to be confident: Treasure your health every day. "Your body is your instrument, and you have to take beautiful care of it. I do one hour of yoga and walk for 30 minutes every day. You really enjoy life a lot more if you're healthy. And I never leave home without putting on lipstick—it makes me feel pretty!"

Come on....I've got my pom poms out and I'm cheering for you! Let's go...take control of your life...your future self will thank you for it!