Last year, with the help of Weight Watchers and running, I lost 35 pounds. I was on track to lose the last 25 when I found out I was pregnant and it was time to put that goal on hold for a while.
I gained 30 pounds during pregnancy, which means that even at the end of that pregnancy, I weighed less than I had a year before.
Two weeks after Cami's birth, I found I had 14 pounds to lose to get back to where I was last summer.
I lost ten pounds in March and five pounds so far in April, leaving me looking like this:
Wow, it feels great to be making so much progress!
But at the same time, this process is discouraging and overwhelming. I've had to fight stress and sleep-deprivation and ravenous, irrational hunger for every pound. Some weeks, the scale hasn't moved much despite my best efforts. Fitting in the running hasn't been easy.
But I've learned something in the process and it is this: Be careful what you say when you talk to yourself. I've had to consciously change my thoughts.
Instead of "Only ten pounds down. You've still got thirty to go. I don't know if you can keep it up that long," I've tried to say, "Ten pounds is awesome! You're one-fourth of the way there!"
Instead of "You barely lost anything this week. A half pound a week? At that rate, it will take you SIXTY weeks to lose all that extra weight. Might as well give up now." I've tried to say, "You'll do better next week. A half pound is a half pound gone and at least the scale is moving in the right direction."
Instead of "You're slowing down this month. All that work the last two weeks and you're only barely back to where you were last summer. Can you really keep this up for however long it takes?" I've tried to say, "Now, you're one-third of the way there. Look how all your smallest clothes fit you again! You didn't get very long to enjoy this size last summer, so celebrate it now. Best of all, any weight you lose from this point on is a brand-new low for you."
I still find those negative thoughts creeping in, but deliberately changing them has helped me be patient.
This morning, I saw a new number on the scale -- one I haven't seen in a decade. And hey, aren't I looking great?
Two weeks after Cami's birth, I found I had 14 pounds to lose to get back to where I was last summer.
I lost ten pounds in March and five pounds so far in April, leaving me looking like this:
Wow, it feels great to be making so much progress!
But at the same time, this process is discouraging and overwhelming. I've had to fight stress and sleep-deprivation and ravenous, irrational hunger for every pound. Some weeks, the scale hasn't moved much despite my best efforts. Fitting in the running hasn't been easy.
But I've learned something in the process and it is this: Be careful what you say when you talk to yourself. I've had to consciously change my thoughts.
Instead of "Only ten pounds down. You've still got thirty to go. I don't know if you can keep it up that long," I've tried to say, "Ten pounds is awesome! You're one-fourth of the way there!"
Instead of "You barely lost anything this week. A half pound a week? At that rate, it will take you SIXTY weeks to lose all that extra weight. Might as well give up now." I've tried to say, "You'll do better next week. A half pound is a half pound gone and at least the scale is moving in the right direction."
Instead of "You're slowing down this month. All that work the last two weeks and you're only barely back to where you were last summer. Can you really keep this up for however long it takes?" I've tried to say, "Now, you're one-third of the way there. Look how all your smallest clothes fit you again! You didn't get very long to enjoy this size last summer, so celebrate it now. Best of all, any weight you lose from this point on is a brand-new low for you."
I still find those negative thoughts creeping in, but deliberately changing them has helped me be patient.
This morning, I saw a new number on the scale -- one I haven't seen in a decade. And hey, aren't I looking great?
Comments
You are right about the self-talk. I've been thinking about how, while it is important to look at the bigger picture, sometimes it is overwhelming. But seeing how far you've gone is exciting!
I'm so proud of you. You look great.
Congrats again!
Corine :D