We are always told to keep our mind focused on the prize, to envision ourselves meeting our goals, whether it is a promotion, or weight loss, or an activity we want to accomplish.
I know this is especially true of weight loss. I sometimes complain to myself on days when I just can't seem to exercise at all, or make lots of bad food decisions, that reaching my weight goal must not be so important to me if I'm so lazy or unmotivated that I just don't even try. But it really is important to me. Sometimes it just seems that my mind is gear but my body can't keep up, or my body could totally handle it, but I can't get my brain to activate it. I hate those days.
I really hate those days, and I hate the guilt even more.
What do I love? I love the days when I have all the good images in my mind. Not the images of the fact that I'm the super tall fat girl that is head, shoulders, hips and tummy beyond all my peers (it's bad enough being the big girl, but being six inches taller just makes me feel like Andre the Giant on top of all of it). I love fashion and I look forward to shopping for my new body. I love walking around and lounging naked after sex, and I imagine how much nicer it will be when I'm smaller than the person I'm lounging next to. My final reward is to return to Europe and treat myself to my first trip to Rome, and I look forward to not being ashamed of how I look in my travel pictures. I imagine myself going back to the Appalacian trail and doing week-long hikes instead of just weekend hikes. But my favorite mental image?
My absolute favorite image of myself at goal weight is me in a sports bra and running shorts, nothing else, running though Central Park in the fall, the breeze in my face, whizzing past all the stuffy Upper East Siders, with a huge smile on my face and my ponytail swinging happily back and forth, my iPod cranked and legs are toned and healthy and my middle bit has stuck the finger to 'apple-shaped'. I can't wait to get to the Great Lawn and stretch and cool down and look back over my journey that got me there.
What is your favorite go-to mental image of yourself that keeps you on the wagon?