What happens when you are well on your way to achieving your weight loss and health goals and your life turns upside down in ways you would have never predicted?
If You Are Me
Well if you are me, it apparently means that one by one you let all those bad habits that you worked so hard to change creep back into your life one by one.
If you are me, you start skipping workouts with your trainer because he isn’t a good fit and you are being too nice to cut it off.
If you are me, you start eating out more often.
If you are me, you stop ordering something healthy and deserving a treat becomes a common occurrence that you deserve because life is crazy right now.
If you are me, you stop bring your lunch and hit the café in the office building.
If you are me, you stop training and don’t show up for both your first and then second (that is now supposed to be the first) half marathon.
If you are me you start having a glass of wine or 2 or 3 at night. (This is the habit that was hardest to break)
If you are me, you stop running and going to the gym.
If you are me, you say you will get back after Christmas is over.
If you are me you get sick 3 times in a short period of time so that your whole and then half hearted attempts at getting back at it gets derailed again.
Oh yeah, and if you are me, you gained back over 30 of the 84 pounds you worked so hard to lose.
Ouch. That hurts to put that out there, to see it in print.
But yes, this is what happened to me after several things happened in my life in a very short period of time.
“It” happens to a lot of people. What is “it”? It’s called life. And for me it all started about a year ago.
Life Was
Life was my son being diagnosed with autism and we began the long and stressful process to get him the help he needs.
Life was deciding Mike should stay home with the kids indefinitely.
Life was an innocent visit to a model home that turned into signing a contract to build a new home by the end of the weekend.
Life was selling the house we thought we would live in forever.
Life was downsizing our stuff for said new (smaller) home.
Life was living in a temporary rental after our house sold and the new one wasn’t ready.
Life was moving again 2 months later.
Life was new schools for the kids.
Life was the most demanding audit (at work) that I have experienced in several years.
Life was the holidays were approaching.
Life was the whole family taking turn being sick from October – February – over and over and over.
Life was not sleeping well, staying up too late and not getting up early enough.
Life was feeling too overwhelmed by the thought of planning and tracking food.
The Reality
The reality was there was so much going on for so long that something was going to give. And for me, it was first the food and then the exercise.
I can’t do it all. No one can. Priorities for work, family and health can get out so far out of balance that it is easy to give up the ones where the only person you have to be accountable to is yourself.
A Plan
But, I had a plan. Or so I thought.
After the new year I was ready to go. I was going to go to the gym at 5:00 am everyday, track my food and eat perfectly. And I was going to get back to running.
I was going from 0 to 100 on day one.
And most people that have tried to lose weight that way know what happened next.
EPIC FAIL!
After a few weeks I was exhausted. And just didn’t have the energy to do it and by the end of January I was losing steam.
In February I joined a Facebook group to do 50 miles in February. I was on track the first week. And then I got sick again with a cough so bad that I was down for days and couldn’t walk a mile without coughing like a smoker for the rest of the day (and I don’t smoke).
Starting Over
So here I am now. The beginning of March ready to start again. This time I am trying to take it one step at a time. I’m going back to the basics. I’m tackling one thing at a time.
What is my plan?
Walk 10,000 steps every day for a month. One step at a time.
Starting today.
That is how I started last time. Focusing on one thing.
And I lost 83 pounds in less than a year.
It’s really that simple.
Just pick one thing and do it for 30 days.
It can be the start of something good.
I promise.
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