The New Rule Is........

That was one of my ways of letting my children know that something needed to change as they were growing up.  I would say, "The new rule is...." and I immediately had their attention.  Most of the time whatever needed to change got changed once I made that declaration.

So now I continue to use that phrase with myself (not my husband) when a change needs to be made, and most of the time, I have my immediate attention and whatever needs to be changed gets changed.  Well, not always, you understand, but most of the time.

So to myself and my readers, here is the new rule.......whenever you lose weight......don't allow yourself to gain it back. Period. No reason for overeating is good enough to make you once again face the battle you have just fought.

My desire is to fight this battle, to walk this path, to win this war for the last time.  Never again do I want to have to get out my 'fat' clothes and wear them. Never again do I want to wonder if I'm crowding the poor soul sitting next to me on an airplane. Never again do I want to feel self conscious in a group picture because I'm the heaviest one there.  No way. No how, Once I reach my goal (and I have a loooonnnnng way to go) I'm not going back.

Instead I want to look forward to all the things I will have won by losing all this weight.  I think I will write a few posts about some of the things we can look forward to winning when we have lost our extra weight.

No One. Not One Single Person Has Noticed That I Have Lost Weight!

That's right. I'm almost 23 pounds down now and no one has commented on my weight loss, well, except my wonderful husband.  He's been great.  However, you'd think that someone else might notice!  Is anyone with me on this? Are you having the same experience/frustration?

The truth is though that I'm not frustrated about it. I'm aware of it, of course, but not upset or even surprised.

First of all, people are involved in their own lives. Yes, that makes us sound very self centered and self focused, and it's true.  We're not always quickly aware of changes in the lives of our friends and even family, unless those changes are very noticeable or significant, which brings me to my second point.

Secondly, the more weight you have to lose, the more more you have to lose before it become noticeable to other people. Yes, I wrote that right.  Because I my current weight loss only lost about a third of my goal, it is not great enough right now for friends and family to notice.

Thirdly, That's really ok.  I have decided to not let it bother me, because I know that one day my weight loss will be obvious enough that everyone who knows me, because I'll look great.  You see, the truth is that every five pounds of weight loss will show more that the five pounds before it.  So I'm just weighting (waiting).  In the meantime. I'm feeling better and enjoying wearing clothes that I knew were too tight just a couple of weeks ago.

So take heart, my fellow weight loss travelers.  Our affirmation does not ultimately come from others anyway.  It comes from within ourselves, because we know, we know, we know that we are on the right path and our rewards are personal.  No one else is responsible for them.  Let's keep on traveling!

20 Pounds! 20 Pounds! I've Lost 20 Pounds!!!

Yes, a milestone has been reached.  In terms of weight loss, those numbers that end in a 5 or 0 are significant.  It has taken me about 12 weeks to reach this level. I can do the math and figure out how much longer it will take me to reach my overall goal, but right now I just want to enjoy the moment and be reminded that consistently doing good things in small ways, in seemingly insignificant ways eventually leads to large, significant differences in our lives.

Yes. Yes. Thank you for your congratulations.

Now, on to the next 20 pounds. I got this.

Commitments Renewed

It's been three weeks since I have been to a TOPS meeting. Too long. I have learned during my time away from that group that I need them. I need their acceptance, their encouragement, and their honesty. The accountability that accompanies belonging to an organization such as this, helps to keep me focused on my weight loss goal.

I go to a meeting tomorrow and it's a good thing.

When Losing Weight Every Bite Matters

When I'm not losing weight, I'm gaining weight. That has been my history.  I'm either all in, or I'm completely out. No middle ground. No moderation.

When I am not working to control my weight, I tend to let myself believe that some bites are not important. The bites I take to 'test' the flavor of whatever I'm cooking don't matter. The bites I take as I'm clearing leftovers from the table don't matter. The bites I take just even out the cutting on the cake or pie to make it look nice don't matter. Just another illusion in the state of denial.

The truth is that all those bites I mentioned above contain calories and therefore, matter. Period. I know this. Yes, I do.  However, making myself not take those bites is very difficult, probably one of the hardest habits for me to establish and the easiest to break.

Another important truth is that refraining from taking those bites is a measure and indicator of the level of my commitment to my weight loss goal. How am I doing right now? Well, I'm not there yet, but every day is better than the day before.

Perhaps I need to focus on progress, not perfection.

Am I REALLY Committed to My Decision to Lose Weight?

Ok. That's a question with varying degrees of difficulty. There are days where I am on "on the path" and my commitment to losing weight is strong. Nope. You can't get me to eat anything extra on those days.

Then there are other days when an extra slice of bread, a handful of chips, or a small slice of cake are all temptations. Sometimes big temptations. My commitment is weak on those days.

I have thought about why my commitment level varies from day to day and reached one conclusion. Losing focus and allowing my goals and reasons for desiring those weight loss goals to become less clear.

I know. I know. I know that my success in reaching my weight loss goal is completely dependent on doing what is necessary to keep my focus clear on a daily basis. I must consistently have a strong unwavering commitment to becoming lean and healthy!