“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
In all my efforts to lose weight before, a minor setback or two was a kiss of death.
I might have lost 20 lbs fairly easily, but then would come Girl Scout cookies or a birthday, and I would splurge. I’d sing the Birthday Song then have a piece of cake, which, of course, you can’t have without ice cream. And then my mind would reason, “well, I already blew it, so I might as well go back for more!”
Before I knew it, I would be stuffed sick and sick of myself for being so weak. And that sickness would feed into a heightened state of vulnerability that only propagated failure. One slip became two, which then gave way to a whole day lost. And a day is practically a whole week, so then the whole “I’ll just start back next Sunday” mindset would creep in, giving me a free pass to fall whole-hog off the wagon for the rest of the week.
At that point, you might as well be sunk. Again. But sunk even lower than before. As any smoker can attest, the slippery slope of failed self-control always seems to leave you in a deeper hole than you climbed from before.
It is truly amazing how an addicted mind can justify its enslavement, and being enslaved just plain sucks!
This year has taught me an invaluable lesson that I pray I can hold fast to for the rest of my life. A slip isn’t a bad thing; it doesn’t even have to be a “slip”. It’s a treat to enjoy. It’s the enjoyment of a moment, not the failure of a lifetime.
This past Sunday’s update was short-winded (“and thankfully so!” you might say) because of the weekend rush, so I didn’t expound on just how poorly I ate on Saturday and Sunday. Suffice it to say, I ate very poorly.
But you know what? I kept finding myself thinking, I’m sharing a wonderful experience with my little girl . . . we’re fishing, we’re hiking, we’re laughing and tie-dying, and by golly we’re eating hot dogs and s’mores! And when we get home, I’m going to bounce right back!
On our way home, I told my daughter I’d probably gained eight pounds on the weekend. When I stepped on the scales Monday morning, I’d gained over eight pounds! The lesson I’ve learned during these last nine months is that as long as I isolate such “splurges” as the exception and not the rule, my body will bounce right back.
As of this morning’s weigh-in, I am already back to within ounces of my pre-camping weight and feeling great.
Any time before my experiences this year and a weekend like that would’ve killed my diet. Now, I see my body is progressing. It’s now working with me down this road, not against me.
As awesome as it felt to break the 250 mark the first time, it felt just as awesome to break it again this morning so quickly after my lax weekend. If only I’d known I could recover so quickly from “weak moments” in years past, perhaps I would have not failed so many times before.
As long as I succeed this time around . . . that’s all that matters.
Tip the Scales 2012! 