I have been on this journey of Losing My Baby Weight since the second month after having my baby. It has been 8 months that I am working towards my goal and I have lost a total of 42 lbs so far.
Throughout this journey I have met so many incredibly inspiring people who share the same project of getting healthier and in a better shape. Some of them have reached their goals and succeeded to maintain it for years like @MizFitOnline. Others, I have proudly followed and saw them reach their goals and completely transform their lives and mine as they have become my personal role models and heroes like @tidbits_of_tara. And so many others are still on the path of achieving their goals and yet they have already come a long way and lost over 100 lbs like @JewliaGoulia (140+ lbs lost).
However, along with all these very strong and successful women and many others, came who I'd like to call the "resolution-ists". Or, basically all the people who made the "promise" to lose all their extra pounds on January 1st 2011 or the first Monday of the year and so on and so forth. In late December, I have seen so many people gear up and plan to start working on their goals as if the New Year would bring on some sort of magic and miraculously transform their lives. I've seen people starting up groups and organizing how they will track their potential weight loss. Don't get me wrong. Planning is good. Hoping for a better tomorrow/ future is great. But my point is, if you don't have enough willpower and motivation to bring change to your life today before tomorrow, then you will most likely give up on yourself. Weight loss and healthy-living habits are very hard to keep up with because so many challenges are involved along the way (emotions being the hardest to manage). That's why only the most eager and motivated person will succeed.
January is not over yet and I have witnessed almost all the "resolution-ists" collapse. It's sad, but it also reminds me how acquisitive I was to start this journey. I too could have made a million excuses to postpone the weight loss. For example, having a newborn, being a first time mom, not being able to go to the gym, being sleep deprived, etc. But I didn't. My motivation of getting my body back was too important for me to put on hold.
I want you to ask yourself why and what made you start losing weight. What's your motivation and did it change along the way? Please share your answers and thoughts below.
well I'm not sure what to say here...
ReplyDeleteI am honored (and flattered, and blushing with pride) that I am up there in that beautiful post. Funny thing? I started my journey December 29th 2009 but it was never a "resolution". More of defeated feeling of "if not now, then never"...
I started this LCJ because I couldn't let another day go by wondering "what if"...Once I saw a few goals being met (and they were small small small goals lol) a fire was lit. There was life to be reclaimed. There was life to be lived. There was life to be loved.
Not everyone is ready to make the change. I mean everyone wants too, but to stand up and actually take control is one of the most difficult things we can do. I often see those resolutioners in the gym and send up a silent prayer that I will still see them in February.
My motivation was pretty scary: At 24 years old, I thought I was having a heart attack. I knew something needed to change in my life, and thank goodness, it did. A year later, I'm 175 pounds lighter, and I have a whole new life in front of me. I earned this new world of mine. My motivation in going forward is keeping it.
ReplyDeleteHands up I'm usually the one causing deception in years gone by. I feel that even though I am one of the January starters that has planned to death this is necessary for me to succeed in the past my lack of organisation has let me down as well as the lack of willpower. I now have goals to work for and as long as those are there I know I will succeed. It's taken 28 years of me being unhappy with my weight to finally take control and realise there is only me that can change it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and thanks for the links to others I can follow.
oooh I was just thinking about this yesterday as, since its resolutionist time and all :), Ive been asked so frequently lately why I think I was able to keep the weight off.
ReplyDeleteThe answer for me is a short one: it was no longer about the vessel, the outside or the 'skinny jeans.' It really was about living longer and more energetically and thats something I 'found' though losing weight and refuse to give back.
Carla/MizFit
Great post! I think a lot of "resolutionists" make too hefty a goal, and that is a major reason they give up. Simply saying, I will get in shape or lose weight this year is vague and overwhelming. Setting small, attainable goals along the way makes it much more doable. Like carla said too - it has to be a lifestyle change, not about the appearance, in order to become lasting.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!