“Losing weight is hard. Maintaining weight is hard. Staying overweight is hard. Choose your hard.”
A friend of mine is celebrating a 92 pound weight loss. It has taken her 24 months of dedication and hard work to achieve her goal but she has made it and she looks great! My friend was not someone that I would have looked at and considered obese. In fact I don’t know where she found 92 pounds to lose, but she did. I’m very proud of her accomplishment but to tell you the truth, I’m a little jealous and envious too. I’m jealous because I know what a healthy weight can mean to the quality of a person’s life because I’ve been there; not 92 but a 70 pound loss that I was able to maintain for several years. Some of the positive benefits that I enjoyed while being at a healthier weight were an increase in my energy level, my confidence and self esteem were at an all time high and I especially enjoyed the ability to go from one season to the next without a wardrobe crises. I’m envious of my friend’s ability to stick to her goal and her willingness to put in the hard work necessary to achieve it because lately I have been a weight loss quitter. Yep, when the going gets tough, I tend to give up too easily and just throw in the towel! I think of every excuse under the sun to put it off for another day, another week or sometimes even a month depending on what time of year it is. The above saying is one of my friend’s favorites and I like it too because it’s true. My friend has arrived at another “hard” in her journey which is the maintaining part but I believe in her and her ability to do this. We all travel different roads to success. My friend found hers by way of Weight Watchers and I found mine via Overeaters Anonymous. As I stated in the title of this blog, the journey is personal and we all have to find what works for us.
I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself lately to lose my excess weight, but for some reason I’m not making very good progress. I sit at my desk all day at work and then come home and basically do the same thing now that I am writing. There’s a commercial on TV that says sitting is the new smoking when it comes to your health. I’m painfully aware of my lack of discipline and I’m trying real hard to change that. I am not a morbidly obese person by any means; but I am overweight and “staying overweight is hard”.
When I am struggling with something, I always take it to the throne. Lately I’ve been listening to Bible teachings by Pastor Rick Warren. One in particular that I’ve enjoyed is titled “Why Do I Do What I Don’t Want To Do”. This message is about things that we struggle to control such as eating, spending, drinking, anger, perfectionism, etc. Listening to these teachings reminds me that what we wrestle with most of the time is our own sinful nature; our “natural” inclination to do the wrong thing even when we want to do the right thing. Our sinful nature is like a civil war raging inside of us that causes confusion, frustration and discouragement. We oftentimes find ourselves stuck in a vicious cycle of good intentions, failure and guilt, barely able to move forward. This is what God meant when He said “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. In Romans 7:15 the apostle Paul wrote “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” Paul had “a thorn in his side” that he wrestled with but the Bible doesn’t really say what that “thorn” was. I don’t know about you but I find great comfort in knowing that I am not alone in my struggles.
As always your comments and feedback are welcome.
Sandy I so wish I had the willpower to lose weight. I was 140lbs 7 years ago when I quit smoking now 206lbs. I haven’t had enough willpower to get below 200lbs for 3 years. I found quitting smoking fairly easy using the patch it took about 4 days before I didn’t need the patch anymore however I was very mean for a couple of weeks but I did it. Dieting and exercise are not so easy in fact they seem impossible to me. I picked up some really bad eating habits that I can’t seem to break. Maybe one day I can get on the right track.
On the other hand Tiffany was at 270lbs and she’s down to I believe 208 and she looks amazing. She does low carb and does zumba every Tuesday along with walking. It can be done because she is proof of it and she is happy with her results. I give credit to those that can do it and stick to it. We will get straight one day and get on track I am sure of it.
Debbie, thanks so much for sharing and for your words of encouragement. I know that I am an emotional eater and unfortunately that is the way that I respond when the going gets rough. When I left Overeaters Anonymous, I told myself I had graduated and it was time to put into practice all of the things that I had learned. I did fine until some major challenges came against me i.e. melanoma, broken heart, work stresses and now it’s family worries. I still try to let go and let God but some days it is humanly impossible to do that especially when things are going on with our children and the people we love and care about. I think the bigger problem comes if we stop caring and stop trying. I love you Ms. Debbie.
I have to agree with Debbie. I used to think quitting smoking would be totally impossible for me and it had to be the hardest thing anybody could do………I was wrong. I now understand the issue of weight and how difficult it is. I can’t even say I have tried to lose weight, I just wish I would. Life is all about struggles. We all have them and probably always will have one kind or another. At least we aren’t alone!!