It's Always Worth It

I know many people who have lost weight and then gained it back again, or who have given up on themselves ever losing the weight long before they ever reach their goal. And every time I see it happen, it saddens me.

I am not judging anyone who does this. I have done this in the past myself. (I once lost 50 pounds on Weight Watcher's over a 6 month period and then gave up and gained it all back and more.) Fortunately, the last time I decided to lose weight, I was able to stick with it until I reached my goal weight and then I have hung on to this weight loss ever since.

It's not easy. I know some of you might think that it gets easier once you reach your target weight, but it doesn't. Maintenance isn't any easier than losing weight. In fact, in some ways it is harder. When you no longer have to face poor health and being unhappy with your size, gaining a little bit of weight back doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But that little bit of weight can easily snowball into a much larger weight gain.

I know that there are times when all of the hard work doesn't seem worth it. Sometimes, it just seems like you are giving up too much or having to work too hard to reach your goal. Sometimes, having that huge slice of frosted cake seems more worthwhile than sticking to your healthy eating plan.

And maybe you get to a point where you decide that it's not worth it because you will never be strong enough or stick with it long enough to reach your goal. Maybe you can't really picture yourself slim and healthy, living a healthy lifestyle. Maybe it is easier to give up on yourself.

But it is worth the hard work. It is worth the sacrifice. It is worth the effort and the struggle and the good choices. Because you are worth it. you deserve to be healthy, fit and confident. you will gain so much more from sticking with your healthy lifestyle than you will lose from sticking with it. You will gain yourself back.

You don't need to hide yourself behind a layer of unnecessary fat. You don't need to eat sugar and fat and junk to feel good about yourself. Besides, when has eating junk food ever helped you feel good about yourself for longer than it takes to eat the junk food?

I have reached my goal weight and I've stayed at this weight for around two years. And I am telling you that it is worth it. Believing in yourself is worth it. Making the right choices for yourself is worth it. Not giving in to temptation is worth it. Keep struggling, keep fighting and keep reaching, because it is worth every second of the effort to reach your dreams!

Don't give up. It's worth it, even though it sometimes seems hard. It does take work and dedication. But it's worth it.

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Succeeding!

I just finished participating in NaNoWriMo. The goal is to write 50,000 words of your novel within the 30 days of November. I still have one more day to write, but I have already reached 53,025 words. I succeeded at it for the second year in a row!

A few years ago, I would never have even attempted it. I did not have the confindence in myself or my ability to succeed at anything. It was as if the extra weight carried with it magical powers that made me think I was not good at anything and would never be able to achieve any of my dreams.

As the weight fell away, and I kept meeting weight loss goal after goal, the power that my fat held over me faded along with the fat's disappearance. I slowly started to believe in myself again. I started setting new goals that had nothing to do with weight loss.

I just wish others realized that they are capable too. We all have the power to choose to succeed. We all have the power to believe in ourselves and to reach for our dreams.

Don't let the extra weight have power over you. Believe in yourself!

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Half The Woman I Used To Be!

I thought my chances at having large losses during the week were over, but this week I managed to lose four pounds! I needed 4 ½ pounds lost to reach my goal weight, and even though I didn’t get that extra half a pound, I feel really good about getting a four pound loss this week!

My weight had jumped up earlier in the week, and I was struggling to get it to come back down. Nothing I did seemed to be working. At one point, I became so frustrated about it, I prayed that God would just take the weight off of me. I’d been working so hard at it with very little result, and it just didn’t seem fair. I woke up the next morning with the extra weight almost completely gone.

I continued to exercise and eat healthy, and I hoped for the best. And I am really happy to say that I now weigh 135.5 pounds (9 stone 9 ½ pounds) now, and I am only half a pound away from my goal weight! I know I will get that half a pound off this week, and it means that I will reach my goal by the deadline I set for myself. I wanted to get to my goal weight by my birthday. My birthday is on February 27th, and the next weigh-in is on February 22nd.

I’ve now come down 8 dress sizes. I have lost more than 50% of my starting weight! I am finally in a healthy BMI for my height. I keep telling myself that, if I can do this, I can do anything. I have so many dreams that I want to make a reality, and I know I have the willpower to achieve them now! And I hope others who are struggling with their weight can look at the amount I’ve managed to lose and see that they can do it too.

Robert wrangled the “Slimmer of the Week” title off of me by managing to lose 4 ½ pounds this week. It also put him back in his target range (2 ½ pounds away from his target weight) which means, since he’s been “at target” before, he no longer has to pay at our Slimming World group meetings. (Once you hit your target, you can be three pounds below or three pounds above it without having to pay.) He’s hoping to get those last 2 ½ pounds off this coming week.

I’m just so excited about the idea of finally getting to my target weight! I am really looking forward to the next weigh-in now!

I knew this year was going to bring wonderful things!

When Weight Loss Slows

I lost another pound at my last weight loss. I'd have liked to have lost two, but one works for me.

I keep saying that my weight loss has slowed down because I'm lighter now and closer to my goal. But, although that does have an effect on my weight loss, it's not the only reason.

My friend Helen and I were recently talking about this. She only has three pounds to lose left until she reaches her goal weight. And she's been at around that point for a couple of months now. The way she explained it was that, now that she's so close to her goal, it's not as important or as urgent to lose weight. She feels like she can "play" a bit. She's only 3 pounds above her ideal weight, so I can understand that. If she'd already reached "target" at Slimming World and then gone up three pounds to where she is now, she would still be considered at target.

And I think a little bit of that is creeping in with my weight loss too. When I had over 100 pounds to lose, it was obvious to anyone looking at me that I needed to lose weight, and my health was being affected by my weight, so I knew that it was really important that I get myself fitter and healthier as soon as possible.

But now I'm just 17 pounds from my ideal weight. And I feel like a normal person. I feel healthy. I feel fit. And I don't feel like people are looking at me and judging me because of my weight anymore. So I'm not trying as hard to get those last pounds off.

I nibble at things. Sharon, our Slimming World consultant, was talking a little about this last night. Those "syns" (or calories if that is what you keep tabs on) really creep up when you aren't counting the little things.

When I make my daughter a peanut butter and honey sandwich, I always get a bit on my fingers, and I always lick my fingers when I am done before washing my hands. I don't count the syns or the calories from that. I don't measure my food as often as I was doing. So what if my portion of cereal in the morning is actually slightly higher than the amount I am counting? Or maybe I am giving myself a bigger portion of grated cheese with my lunch because I'm just eyeing the amount instead of weighing it. I may be adding syns (calories) without realizing it (and I probably am) and I'm not writing those extra calories/syns down in my food journal. It's little things that add up without us even realizing it, and those little things can sabotage our weight loss efforts.

So this week, I'm going to be very careful about measuring and weighing my portions, make more healthy choices in my food, do no indescriminate nibbling, and keep my syns (or treats as some of you would call them) in check.

And I'll let the scale at the end of the week tell me whether I've done a good job.

No more complacency. I will reach my goal weight by my birthday on February 27th.