You hear it all the time. Change is inevitable and it’s good. It promotes growth. But most people are hesitant to change, some even hate it. I am not one of these people on most fronts. I love to re-arrange my furniture, I thrive at work when things are changing (which is constant) and I don’t even mind moving. Which, I haven’t done in years, but still.
And now I am faced with the ultimate change. I am changing so many things to one final end. My weight. My body. The vessel in which God has given me to live.
Until now I have treated my body very poorly. I have put things into it that were far from fuel and nourishment. I was putting garbage in. And all it did was make me slow, sick and grumpy. I was one of these folks sitting on the couch watching weight loss shows and wishing I could do it as I ate ice cream!
When I started on this ultimate Journey I decided a few things.
1: I would try hard not to cheat, to make this worth my time and money. To give this 100%!
2: I wouldn’t limit myself on real health food. Mainly veggies! I’m not a big fan anyway so this wasn’t a huge deal
3: No more eating out at places that serve garbage.
4: Reward myself
5: Set small goals
6: No buying any clothes unless absolutely necessary.
Now these may seem crazy or extremely smart, I’ll let you judge that. But they work for me. And I have done very well. When I do cheat, it’s really minor. Now I have to work on not beating myself up about it. Out of the few vegetables that I like I have eaten my fill. Of course I avoid corn (my fave) as I know it’s full of sugar! I’ve even indulged in fruit, which tastes so amazing after weeks of no real sugar. When I have eaten out I order the healthiest item on the menu. Nothing fried, breaded or full of fat. Beware salads though, they aren’t always the healthy choice. I have not bought any clothes yet, but I will have to soon as I fear I may be naked soon. But my rewards are the biggie.
So I decided that a reward would happen at every 10 lbs. I have lost 40 so far. So four rewards.
Now, it’s important for you to know that no matter how I lost weight in the past I was always trying to find a way to eat the things that I thought I loved. “Oh I lost 3 lbs, I deserve a candy bar” (sound familiar?) And food always found it’s way into my reward system. Well not this time BUD!
My rewards have been; my geocaching app for my iPhone, changing my hair, buying one outfit (which is almost to big) and going to a movie (almonds and water in purse. No snack shack!)
And I have a lot of rewards to go. My list may change but for now they include: Pedicure, Manicure, Massage, Hair color, Upgrade my phone, buy a GPS, and get my tattoo.
But the biggest reward is the changes. The change in my eating habits; candy bars don’t appeal to me at all any more. The change in my body, how clothes fit or don’t. The change in my mind set, I don’t want to be fat anymore. The change in my movements, I started walking. I try to walk at work and I have walked at the school track once. Never thought I would be saying that.
But all these changes are so amazing and good! They were so out of my realm of thinking that they never seemed possible. But I like them. I want more of them and I am willing to fight for them. And it’s going to be really hard some days and I will fall off the wagon but I will regain my footing and prevail. I have no choice and it’s what I want.
My Journey’s My Own 