This discouragement made me want to just give up. Quit blogging. Sleep all day. I can't seem to make any progress, I can't see any results, I have failed my whole life, did I really think this time would be different?
Thankfully, I am married to the most wonderful husband in the world. We stayed up late last night, sitting and snuggling on the couch while my husband encouraged me, asked me questions, challenged me and gave me some of the best advice ever. What really stuck with me?
1. Think of food as energy to fuel your body. Not treats, not joy, but fuel. It helps your body do what it needs to do, do what you want it to. I think about this every time I open the fridge now. What am I going to do today and how can I help my body do that better? Am I eating this for fuel or pleasure?
2. Set ultimate and intermediary goals...use numbers and be concrete. I touched on this earlier, but I need to be more concrete than "healthy". In the next few days, I am planning on weighing myself (which I haven't done for a year because it vacillated so much and I got discouraged) and I will take my measurements (meh). Then I will base ultimate goals and intermediary goals so I can SEE progress and celebrate the little victories.
3. Have a plan. This is how I asked my husband to help. I get too easily offended for him to tell me to "drop the cookie!" So I asked him to ask me, every day, what my plan is for food and exercise. Then I have to stick to what we discussed and it makes me think and decide ahead of time how I am going to succeed. Examples: My husband asked me "What are you going to do when you wake up?" "How are you going to ensure you get at least 5,000 steps?" "How are you best going to handle eating out with your friend tomorrow?" It was HARD to answer these and I didn't want to commit. But I did. And it was HARD to follow through, but I had agreed with myself and my husband the night before and I had to stick to my word. I made sure to eat a good breakfast, I went on a 1.5 mile walk with Buddy and my mom, and I brought half (1/3) of my dinner home for Matthew to taste.
4. It won't be easy, but worth it. It WON'T be easy...and I secretly think/hoped it would be for me, once I got started. Some days will be easier, but easy does not define success. I was getting discouraged on how LONG it will take me to achieve my goals and see results. But the time will pass whether I am being healthy or not, so might as well let the time add up and be on MY side.
5. "I know you can do it...but I don't know if you will. It's up to you." Hard to hear but encouraging at the same time. I am capable but I need to DO IT. It's up to me. I can do it. And this time, I WILL.
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