Monday, May 17, 2010

260's to 250's....250's to 240's....240's to 230's...

And finally, from the 230's into the 220's! Oh yeah, I'm in the 220's baby...and you know what that makes me think? Well, it makes me think that the 2-teens aren't too far off, which means that UNDER 200 is in sight.

In January when I started this journey at 265, under 200 wasn't even on my radar. Of course it's something I hoped to get to....

...by the end of the year or something...

But now, here I am. 228...in 29 pounds, I'm under 200 baby, and that thought keeps me going.

That's really the key to making a long term change, right...finding that thing that keeps you going. I've had many inspirations since January, but just how great I am feeling and looking is really what's driving me...that and seeing that yes, I CAN do it! I take a short-term goal approach to my weight loss. I literally set my first goal at "Get into the 250's". Once I got into the 250's, my goal was to get into the 240's and so on. I'm not so good at long-term goals! I know this about myself, so therefore I set myself up for success by setting goals that I know are achievable. If it's too far out of reach I am so likely to give up.

Another thing that is motivating me to keep chugging along right now is clothing. I finally broke down and had to go buy some new clothes. I ended up in a 16W pant/shorts. The stuff in my closet was 22/24W, 20W, and some 18W. Holy moly....16W. I think I wore 18W's when we got married 15 years ago, so I haven't worn a 16W in over 15 years. HOLY MOLY...

I am close to ditching the "Women's" section of the clothing stores! Once I can move from a 16W to a regular 16 Misses, I am out of the "Women's" section.

That is motivating me right now.

When it all comes down to it though, motivation isn't a one-size-fits-all thing. What motivates me may have the opposite effect on a friend and vice versa. My experience in getting "Fit By Forty" has shown me a couple of things about successful weight loss. First of all, you have to get to a place where you firmly believe that YOU DESERVE a healthier life. Once you get there you will find the time to get that exercise in. You will skip the bag of chips for a healthier choice. But you have to believe that YOU DESERVE it. Also, my journey has shown me that motivation is key. You have to find the motivating factor for YOU. Your spouse or workout buddy might have totally different things that motivate them. What you have to focus on is what motivates YOU and then use that to help you get through tough times. For example, I LOVE movie theater popcorn. Really. Love. It. I cannot eat one handful and I know this. On date night my hubby got popcorn and I'm OK with that. I can resist, right? As I sat there in the dark theater obsessing about having just ONE handful I thought to myself...WHY? Why even take that one handful, which will make you want to down the entire bag? WHY do that when you've worked SO hard to get from 265 to finally in the 220's? Does that popcorn really taste THAT good to risk undoing everything that you've worked so hard to achieve?

NO...that is what I realized. No, popcorn does NOT taste that good. But I knew that if I started, it wasn't going to be pretty. I was going to eat it. So I resisted because I deserve to be healthier, and I have worked hard. I deserve to NOT have it WAYYYYYYY more than I deserve to self sabotage.

So I skipped it, and I left the movie that night feeling pretty pleased with myself for resisting the urge and being stronger than that bag of popcorn!

Find your motivation and dig way down in there and realize that YOU DESERVE health. You deserve to have the energy and stamina to enjoy your life.

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