Simple but NOT Easy

Losing weight is not easy. Gaining it, however, is. But like the saying goes, "You didn't put it(the weight) on overnight and you can't take it off overnight either." Gaining weight is simple. All you have to do is eat. Eat  whatever you want and do nothing. The more you eat, the better. The more processed, fatty, sugary food you eat, the better. If you're an emotional eater, even better. That's what I am. I started to type, "that's what I was" but thought better of it. I still am. There are days when I am stressed or upset and my first thoughts turn to food for comfort. It is a battle and a struggle every time I feel that way.

Losing weight is not easy but it is simple. Eat right, drink a lot of water, exercise, and get enough sleep. It's a simple plan to follow but there is nothing easy about it. Losing weight takes hard work...A LOT of it. Some weeks or months may be easy for you. You are enjoying the plan. But eventually, at some point on your journey, something will come along and try to derail you. Sometimes you will slip up and make poor choices. Other times you will fight the temptation and come out on top. The key to losing weight is planning and making good decisions.

I am a planner by nature but when it comes to food and my body, I developed a fly by the seat of my pants theory. I ate if I wanted to. If it was going to make me feel good at that moment then fine. Inhaling a half a bag of family size salt and vinegar potato chips was nothing to me. Because, well, if it made me feel good then I should do it. It's the same way with sin. By the way, you know gluttony is a sin right? I wonder why preacher's never preach on it. I mean, it's one of the seven DEADLY sins. I realize that there are other ways to be gluttonous but obesity is rampant in our culture and even our churches. But alas, this is not the point of this post.  Planning has been the key to my weight loss success and lack of planning has the been the key to my weight loss setbacks and failures.

I won't go into my whole story again because most of you already know it and if you don't you can look at past posts. But in January of this year, I decided to make a change in my life. Not just for the betterment of my own health but that of my child. I wasn't setting a very good example for her and she was eating a lot chicken nuggets and fries, chips, and just plain junk. Now, she is a super food eater. She loves asking whether or not something is a super food. Last Wednesday during supper at church, she was eating collard greens. I don't know many three year old's that eat collard greens. The couple sitting with us was amazed that she would eat them when they wouldn't. The week before she had cleaned her entire plate of food. The same couple sat with us that week and was equally surprised at how well she ate. There is not much that she turns down. She is an exceptional eater and loves to try new foods. We used to be the type of parent's that would turn her down when she wanted to try something. We decided for her. If we thought she wouldn't like it or it was too spicy or if it was something we didn't particularly like, we wouldn't give it to her. We changed our philosophy. We let her try pretty much everything unless, of course, it something not good for her. She's such a good eater now that if she doesn't like something, we don't force her but we do make her give it a good try first. If she doesn't clean her plate, that is fine by me too, as long as she's eaten enough of it. I struggle deeply with the clean plate rule. As a child, I was always made to clean my plate. If I didn't, I wasn't allowed to have a treat later on. As an adult, it is very hard for me to not finish my plate even if I am full because I feel like I am doing something wrong. I am thankful that I took control of my health while she was still young. I hope and pray that making good decisions now will keep her from having the same food issues that I do.

Um...back to planning. I get side-tracked easily. Ha. But yes, in January, I started making some better decisions. We ate more fruits and vegetables and cut way back on fast food. I began losing weight once a lot of the processed food was out of my life. I was too scared to weigh myself because of how much I had gained. Eventually I incorporated the Wii Fit into my life and lost even more weight. By the middle of May, I had a real plan and real goals. I began to lose weight every week. Mostly a pound or two but every once in a while I would lose about four pounds in a week. But after I completed The Couch to 5K training and ran my 5K, I sort of hit a wall. I lacked purpose. I still had my initial weight loss goal in mind, 30 pounds by September but September came and went and the scale hadn't budged. I did enough to keep from gaining weight but not enough to lose anything. But for the most part, it was due to a lack of planning and good decision making on my part. The plan was still simple but I wasn't following the plan. I stayed up late, drank diet coke all the time instead of water, ate haphazardly, and exercised without any true regularity.

Over the last month, I've gotten back into a groove. I took back charge of my life and health. I planned and made better decisions. Today, I am excited to say that this past week, I've lost the most weight during one week that I have in a long time. I lost three pounds this week!!! This puts me only one pound away from my 30 pound goal! I am beyond excited. One more pound and I'll be the smallest I've been since before Abigail was born and she'll be four in two weeks!

Losing weight really is simple. You just have to follow a plan, make good decisions, and be consistent. It won't be easy and you'll have to fight for it. But it is worth it!