What Is The Point?

Sometimes when you know a secret, but you can't pass that knowledge along, it is a little frustrating.  All too often, I speak to people who tell me about how many pounds they've lost and invariably the conversation turns to what they can't eat or they bemoan the loss of certain favorites.  "I'll treat myself when I hit goal.", I hear them say.  It is at this time that I want to lay some hard cruel facts on them, but instead, I offer encouragement and cheer them on.  Who am I to be a demotivator?  

It seems counter-intuitive to tell someone trying to better themselves that they are destined for failure. The bitter truth is that even if they hit their goal weight, old habits will kick back in and the pounds will return.  Even worse, it will come back and then some.  That is if, of course, you are like over 95% of the rest of the world.  We all think we are different.  Only 5% of us are right.

The reason I am taking my weight off ever-so-slowly is that I am changing habits.  I am developing trends that become second nature.  When you take an abstinence approach to weight loss it becomes about what you are removing from your routine, not about what you are including in new routines.  I get my rewards from finding new and nutritious ways of making good food.  That may not be what thrills you.  I more than get that.  But you do need to find what will float your boat along the way to sveltness.  If not, the same old things that made you overweight to begin with will be the same things you seek when you cross the "finish" line.  That line you are celebrating, it's not an end point.  It is the beginning of your next upswing.

So many of you will make a new year's resolution to take off some pounds in 2013.  We could ask ourselves, "What's the point here?"  Do I want to make a sprint to a point on the scale or do I want to live life as a person making intelligent choices on an ongoing basis?  You know the answer already.  The real question then becomes "Am I willing to take the necessary time to make long-lasting changes?"  It's a commitment that is so very hard to make.  Don't lie to yourself when you commit.  Do it right or wait until you are ready to.  I've spent 35 years lying to myself with half-hearted attempts and paying dearly.

Cya next time,
M

What I ate and how I exercised:
Breakfast ~ Panera Power Breakfast Sandwich and decaf
Lunch ~ Tomato soup and one slice of bread with reduced fat peanut butter
Dinner ~ Drinks with old friends, a Burger King plain burger on the drive home and some brown rice with parsley, Earth Balance Spread and canellini beans when I got home.
Exercise ~ 45 minutes on the treadmill and about 2.25 miles