Something strange has happened to me over the last 5 months. At the New Year, I made a resolution to lose weight. With no statistics at all, I’m officially declaring weight loss to be the #1 New Year’s Resolution. So, setting the goal isn’t the unique or exciting part. The thing that surprises me is that I stuck to it–I lost weight. I’ve lost just short of 20 lbs. Now, I have dieted before. And, once I even lost weight. But, never without going crazy and feeling unstable. At one point I was even flirting with an eating disorder, which terrifies me. But, this time, I decided I was just going to try it out. I would make a reasonable plan, and stick to it–give it some time. I didn’t want to lose weight by any means that I couldn’t maintain. So, I said 1500 calories a day and 5 hours of cardio a week. Enough to get results, but not so much to drive me crazy. Turns out that was the secret all along. Weight loss is not an event. It’s what you do over an extended period of time. I’m thrilled by my success, and I’m ready to lose the last 10 lbs.
I used to think it was shallow to talk about weight loss, and, as you’ve surely noticed, I’m deep. I think my attitude towards weight loss has changed in many ways, but I’ve also become more honest with myself. I won’t pretend not to care about vanity. Bodies are important to how you experience the world, and I’m not above the material.
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Well done! I’ve come to the same conclusion myself. I kept writing out weight-loss programmes for myself and never stuck to them. But now I’ve just added exercise to my daily life and I don’t have any short term goals – just to get to a healthy BMI and stay there. Just have to be patient!
Wow, way to go. You seem to have the right attitude about the whole process. I think I’ll need your help!!! :-)