What do you REALLY love, and what are you willing to give up for it? This is a question I'm asking myself right now - I'm posting this so you can ask yourself the same question.
Sweets are my downfall. If it has sugar in it, there is a 99.9% chance that I'll like it. If it has both sugar AND a high fat content, that percentage goes up. What I have learned since reaching my goal over 5.5 years ago is that although many things and many habits have changed, I still have a sugar addiction. It is very difficult, bordering on impossible, for me to eat sweets in moderation. Once I start, it's as if my brain completely disengages. This time of year becomes very challenging for me because the stuff of my addiction is everywhere (except my house!).
Some people report that once they lose the weight and reach their goal, sweets and other fattening things don't ever tempt them. Some say that those things don't even taste good to them anymore. Sigh . . . I wish I could say that, but the truth is that I still have a set of fully-developed fat-girl taste buds - everything still sounds and tastes as good to me as it ever did. I was raised with a lot of fried food and my taste buds still think that frying only improves the taste of anything.
When it comes to eating, I have cut myself a bit too much slack lately - been a little less mindful of both the kind of food I've eaten as well as the quantity. I still eat six small meals a day and 2-3 of them are usually Medifast meals, but some of those other meals have included things that aren't in my long-term best interest. When this happens, I notice pretty quickly that I feel more sluggish and that I start to crave more of the stuff.
Because I am committed to staying at a healthy weight AND being healthy (having once been Type 2 diabetic, I am well-aware of the dangers of regaining my weight), I have to ask myself once again the same important question: what do I REALLY love?
It comes down to what's most important to me. We all have to make primary choices, then make secondary choices to support our primary choice, even if we don't necessarily like the secondary choice. For example, if someone makes the decision to become a concert pianist (primary choice), they will make secondary choices (practice 4 hours a day, not engage in some sports to avoid possible injury to their hands, etc.) to support that primary choice. We don't always LIKE the secondary choices, but we do them because they support our primary choice.
When it all boils down, my primary choice is to be thin and healthy, so I am making some secondary choices that support that. I will exercise, whether I feel like it or not; I will make healthy choices in what I eat, whether I feel like it or not; I will continue to eat 5-6 small meals a day (2-3 of them Medifast meals), whether I feel like it or not.
For me, it's important to stay focused on what I'm gaining, not on what I'm giving up. I kept that focus while I lost my weight, and it's important for me to keep that same focus now. If I focus on feeling deprived, that has the potential to lead to failure. However, if I stay focused on what I'm gaining - and there is SO much to gain by making healthy choices - then I will embrace those healthy choices and celebrate the victories.
All of this has very little to do with willpower and a lot to do with deciding what is REALLY important to me at this point in my life. I LOVE the life I have, and I'm so thankful to God for leading me to Take Shape for Life. This program has changed my life - literally gave me back my life. I am making the choice to maintain my weight loss and my health for the rest of my life!
For you and for me, it's a choice we have to make every day. Choose wisely :-)
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