Hello fellow chicks! It's been a crazy 15 months, and 130 pounds later I find myself close to goal and inching forward. However, the numbers are no longer making me happy- in fact, they're making me miserable! I'm tired of living my life by the scale, allowing it to dictate how happy I will be that day. No more!
Also, I'm tired of eating the same thing day in and day out. I want the foods I love, and I want to teach myself to eat them in moderation and as part of a balanced lifestyle. I'm tired of going to the gym and caring more about how many calories I'm burning than what the exercise is doing for my mood and spirit. I say no more!
I'm getting rid of my scale, I'm saying no more "NO!" foods, no more exercise for the sake of weight loss alone. I'm not at goal yet, but the closer I get to goal, the more I realize that I need more than that number to make me happy! So here are my new goals:
Food
-Stop over thinking it, and stop obsessing about it. I'll probably continue to count calories for a while, until I get the hang of balancing my meals, but I'm trying to phase it out, so it's not the *key* to my lifestyle.
-Eat anything I want and learn to do so in moderation. Some foods, like ice cream and candy have too much power in my life. Having the option to eat them in moderation will help take away that power.
-Eat a variety! We all get in those diet ruts, where it's just easier to eat only certain foods. Food can be exciting and an adventure- why not try lots of things?
-Choose foods because I know they're healthy, not just because I know the calorie content. I want to view food as medicine, and choose what I eat accordingly. Carrots are disappointing when they're just a low-calorie alternative, but when they're healthy medicine, filled with vitamins and minerals to help me feel great, then wow! I want carrots!
Exercise
-Exercise isn't just about making my body look good. It also needs to be about making my body, mind, and spirit feel good. I want to try new physical activities, go at the rate which feels best for me. I'm tired of kicking my own butt in order to make it look smaller!
-Make it fun! I'm tired of looking down at a clock and telling myself "five more minutes." I want to do things I enjoy, I certainly don't want to waste my life doing things that only make me happy when they're over. No, a hike doesn't burn as many calories as a stair-stepper. No, tentatively trying new yoga poses doesn't make me lose a pound faster. But I'm going to enjoy them!
-Lose the fear of looking stupid. I want to climb a rock wall, and no one is going to laugh if I slip!
-Don't feel guilty. Sometimes we just don't want to work out. What's wrong with going for a walk instead? Or taking a day off? I don't have to feel bad for this.
Fat, Weight, etc
-This is going to sound terrible, but I'm going to do it- only weigh once every two weeks. The scale is gone, and I'm going to weigh myself at the gym every 2 weeks, on Monday. No joke. It's not going to be fun, and it will probably feel uncomfortable for the first week or two. I might fight it by getting grumpy or feeling fat. But I'm just going to deal, until I'm used to it.
-Measurements: only once a month, on the second weigh-in Monday of the month. Again, I'm just going to have to deal.
Mental
-Everything I've mentioned above, of course, is largely mental
-Coping with change is hard, and I recognize that this shift won't be easy. But it should be highly enjoyable once I get past the fear of change.
-Say 50 positive things about myself everyday. I'll have to keep a tally for a while, until I get used to it.
-Every time I notice myself thinking something negative, I'll think something positive directly after it, EVEN if I DON'T believe it. This is an old therapist's trick that I've noticed really works.
-Be mindful of my food, thoughts, feelings, and exercise without obsessing over them. I'm going to use a journal to help me with this. I need to be aware of my desire to be healthy and happy almost constantly so that I can overcome my usual habits and patterns. (This should get easier with time!)
-Come up with a new mantra every few days!
Todays mantra: Doesn't it feel good to be alive and healthy? Keep it that way!
So, I realize this is a lot, so sorry to go on for so long. I'd love it if some of you would join me! I want to start a discussion in which we can post our daily goals and successes, and just be there for each other.
Please, if you're going to join, try to avoid talking about numbers constantly. That's not what this is about.
Anyone interested?