Yesterday was an interesting mix for me emotionally. On the one hand, I was really happy to be home after a busy ten days away and it felt good to be on my own turf with a more normal schedule. On the other hand, getting back to the "real world" always feels a bit anti-climatic. After a trip that included a conference, time with friends and sight-seeing, I was back home with laundry to do, dust to contend with, and a pile of things waiting on my desk. I am a hopeless adrenaline junkie, so my mini-crash today was to be expected.
The same is true for our weight loss journey. When things are happening - the scale is moving, sizes are shrinking, people are noticing - it's pretty exciting! When things are happening, it's not too hard to stay motivated. The challenge comes when things aren't happening anymore.
To my surprise, I experienced a mini let-down after I reached my goal and went through Transition. After almost a year of watching the scale move, after almost a year of watching sizes shrink and eventually getting constant comments about how great I was looking, I reached Maintenance. The scale didn't move any more, I wasn't going to drop any more sizes, and people began to adjust to my new, small size and comments stopped. This was my new normal, and while I was happy to finally be here, the adrenaline rush was gone. There was no excitement as I stepped on the scale each morning, and I found that I missed it.
The easy part of this program is the food part. The hard part is the head part. I worked on a lot of my food-related issues while I was on 5&1, but I hadn't really anticipated feeling any let-down post goal. I realized that part of what kept me going for almost a year was the excitement of something happening all of the time, and I also realized that I needed to dig deeper to stay motivated for the long haul of Maintenance.
Much like returning to my normal routine that includes laundry and dusty furniture, Maintenance isn't glamorous. Some days are more fun than others, but the adrenaline rush has slowly been replaced by something that is ultimately more satisfying - a healthy life and lifestyle. The more I think about it, the more I realize that the lack of excitement is a GOOD thing, because it means that all of this has truly become an integral part of my life.
For those of you who are on 5&1, I hope this is an exciting phase for you! I hope you're seeing consistent weight loss, that you are shrinking out of your clothes on a regular basis, and that you're starting to receive encouraging and complimentary comments from others. This is a great time in your life and it's truly life-changing! By staying on plan day by day, you are not only moving ever closer to your goal, you are also establishing new habits that will serve you well in Maintenance. And even though Maintenance isn't always exciting, it is great place to be - come join me! You'll get there one day, one meal, and one choice at a time . . . choose wisely :-)
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