Hate the Process . . . Love the Result

Hate the process . . . love the result.  That often describes me!  Whether it's cleaning out a closet or doing some other "needs to be done" project, I often find that I really don't enjoy the process, but I love the result.  That is certainly true of the process I'm currently in - recovering from my total knee replacement.  Three and a half weeks into this and I'm honestly not loving the process - it's slow, frustrating, and I'm tired of the whole thing.  But I'm hanging in there and maintaining a fairly good attitude because I know that the end result will be worth it.

The truth is, sometimes there is joy in the journey and sometimes there's not.  Thankfully, most of my weight loss journey was pretty joyful because it was exciting to watch my body shrink and transform.  I felt great, wasn't hungry, and I loved watching the scale and my clothing size go down.  However, there were times when I was definitely NOT having fun and despising the process. 

What kept me going on those days was wanting to be done with the weight loss portion of the program so that I could get on with the rest of my life.  On more than one occasion while I was on Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1, my husband heard me muttering to myself (or saying it out loud), "This is NOT the rest of my life . . . "  I reminded myself of that periodically because while the almost-year went fast, there were some really LONG days.  On those long days, getting from one Medifast meal to another was hard, and on those days I wasn't particularly excited that the next meal I would have would be yet another Medifast meal.  Resolute would pretty much describe my mindset on those days, just as resolute best describes my mindset right now as I work through this recovery period.  Then and now, it was a matter of just putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to move forward, whether I felt like it or not.

On those days, it really helps to have a clear vision of where you want to end up.  Moving away from the problem only works up to a point, because once the situation begins to improve, the pressure is off and it's hard to maintain momentum.  Momentum is better sustained when you've moving forward towards something you want.

I know I write about this a lot, but that's because I think it makes all the difference between whether you view this program as another diet or whether you view this as a new, healthy lifestyle.  Diets don't work - 85% of people who go on diets regain their weight, plus more, within two years.  Diets are designed to fix a problem, not create health.  By embracing the healthy habits you're learning now (eating six small meals a day, drinking lots of water, getting regular exercise, watching portion sizes, etc.), you will establish a healthy lifestyle that will keep you moving in the direction of optimal health - well beyond just reaching your weight loss goal.

I hope you're having a great, joy-filled and on-plan day, but even if your day is less than joyful, I hope it's still an on-plan day.  You may not be enjoying the process today, but I can promise you that you're gonna love the results!  Regardless of how you feel today, there are still choices to be made . . . choose wisely :-)