Losing at a Snail's Pace

One thing that we all share in common is a desire to get to our goal weight as quickly as possible.  When I started Take Shape for Life almost five years ago, I paid special attention to individuals who lost their weight quickly, because I very much wanted to follow in their footsteps.  By the time I started on this program, I'd been fighting a losing battle with obesity for over 20 years and I was ready to be done with it - as fast as possible.  I tried to set realistic expectations because I was 55 and post-menopausal, so I understood that I probably wouldn't lose as fast as someone younger than I.  But I hoped it would be a short journey from start to finish.  I'm guessing that's what you want, too!

But what happens if your progress is at a snail's pace?   How fast does a snail actually go?   One study clocked a snail at 0.00758 miles per hour - or 40 feet in one hour.  No wonder the phrase "at a snail's pace" means "slow!"  The snail may move at, well, a snail's pace, but you have to admire its perseverance.  One preacher noted that "By perseverance the snail reached the ark." 

Our willingness to persevere is often tested when our progress slows down to a snail's pace.  I had several weeks when I only lost one pound and I had three separate weeks when I didn't lose a thing - even though I stayed 100% on plan.  I won't kid you - it was frustrating and a bit discouraging.  At that point, I had a choice:  I could either keep doing what I had been doing and trust that the scale would eventually catch up, or I could allow my seeming lack of progress to be my undoing. 

Since most of you know that I DID reach my goal, there's no suspense in how this story ended :-).  I realized that I had no control over how fast I lost the weight - I could only control whether or not I chose to stay on plan.  Some weeks my efforts were rewarded with a several pound loss, but other weeks with equal effort brought little or no progress on the scale.  I didn't realize it at the time, but those snail-paced weeks taught me the value of doing what I needed to do regardless of the outcome.  Perseverance made the difference for me and it will make the difference for you, too.  You WILL reach your goal, and ultimately it doesn't matter if you get there quickly or at a snail's pace.  Once you're there, you'll have no regrets that you chose to make the journey.

We can't choose how fast our bodies release the weight, but we can choose to persevere.  The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)