Jen over at Watch My Butt Shrinking http://watchmybuttshrinking.com/ wrote a thought provoking post today about setting "due dates" and "deadlines" for losing weight, and how that has derailed her efforts in the past because if she didn't lose a certain amount of weight (like 20 pounds by Christmas), she would feel like a failure. She asked how we felt about setting weight loss "due dates" and "deadlines". Here was my response:
"No “due dates” or “deadlines” for me this time. I’m in it for the long haul. I’m in it for life. I’ve come to realize this can’t be a diet for me anymore, something I start and then stop once I reach my goal weight. It has to be for the rest of my life. Even once I reach my goal weight, I’ll need to keep up the changes I’ve made, and continue my healthy eating and portion control and exercise routine. This time, I’ve decided this is my new life now."
This shows how my thinking has changed this time around. I'm looking at the whole weight loss thing differently now. Many people like the phrase 'Losing weight isn't a sprint, it's a marathon." I've even used this phrase myself, but lately, I'm thinking even that is not quite right. A marathon, though longer and requiring more endurance than a sprint, still has an end. This journey I'm on to lose weight, get healthy, incorporate exercise into my life and maintain my weight loss, has no end.
I guess that why I gravitate toward calling this my journey, because life is a journey and all these healthy changes I'm making aren't just a temporary fix to get into a pair of skinny jeans. Once I get to my goal weight, I'm not going to stop. I'm going to keep tracking my food intake. I'm going to make healthy food choices and monitor my portions. I'm going to continue to make exercise part of my daily life. If I have a bad day, I'm not going to throw up my hands and give up.
I'm going to keep going.
This is my new life.
I'll never be this weight again!
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