Weight Loss- the Mental Part

This time, I really wanted it.

Really wanted to feel good about myself again, really wanted to feel comfortable in jeans again, really wanted to reclaim my body after having two babies.

If not now, when was I going to do it? When was I going to stop making excuses?

I stopped baking (much to my family's dismay). I just couldn't have cookies, cupcakes, or cake in the house. I stopped coming up with reasons why I deserved a coffee and donut from Dunkin Donuts. I made myself stop binging on sweets when I was "having a bad day" or "the kids were being extra tough".

3 meals, 2 snacks, 2 squares of dark chocolate. Water all day.

I made myself stick to that about 90% of the time and it paid off. It's a lot of self control. It's eating only half of what you are served in a restaurant, because the whole serving is probably at least 1000 calories. It's getting an ice cream cone at your favorite seasonal place, but only getting the Pee Wee size, because that's all you really need. It's getting your favorite order- Crabcake Po'boy- from your favorite snack bar, but not getting the fries and soda you usually got with it. It's eating a little more on date night with your husband, but not letting it change the way you ate the rest of the day or the day after.

Most of all, it's about wanting to make a change in your life more than you want that cookie, or that extra scoop of ice cream.

About a month before I started my weight loss journey, I read something online about goals versus expectations, and how if they don't match, you set yourself up for failure.

If you ask someone: "What is your weight loss goal?"
They might respond: "To lose 20 lbs in 3 months".
Then if you ask them: "What do you actually expect to happen 3 months from now?"
Common response: "I'll be really good about my diet and exercise for a week then I will probably go back to my old ways".

That was definitely me! I would try to "diet" by pretty much eating nothing, wouldn't lose any weight, and go back to the way I ate before within a week.

After reading that article, I thought- no, I can do better than that. I really want this. My goal and my expectation of myself was to lose weight until I felt comfortable again in my skin.

I did not have a number in mind, which I believe helped. I just wanted to feel good again, and the last time I remembered feeling really good body-wise was senior year of high school. I found out from my doctor what I weighed then, and used that as kind of a base goal once I had been having success for a few months. I then looked into what normal weight range was for my height, and made that my next goal. -50 lbs was only 2 lbs below that, so I got excited at the thought of making it to that before I turned 30. I did it! The lowest I've seen is 4 lbs below that, and now I fluctuate between there and my -50 weight.

I am so excited to have gone from an obese BMI to a normal one. I feel better and more energetic than I've felt in years. Some people ask me: "When are you going to stop?" I hope to never stop- I have been practicing healthy habits for over 8 months now, and I won't be going back to my old ways. I have enough positive influences in my life that I know that even if I started to slip, someone would help me get back up. My weight is plateauing, and I am okay with that. If I lose any more, it's gravy. Right now I'm at a healthy weight and that is what matters.

It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change. I have changed my life so that I can be the best mom, wife, sister, granddaughter- the best Me that I can be. I owe it to myself.