I seem to spend a freakish amount of time reading blogs lately. I'm fascinated (and perhaps a little obsessed) with the morsels of fact and opinions that I get from my fellow bloggers. Especially my fellow low carb bloggers. So, today I read a post by Deb over at Confessions of a Jersey Girl about the whys of weight loss and she made a comment about event driven goals.
Hmm.
Have I ever successfully dieted without an event driving it?
Let's see.
NOPE.
The last time I lost 40 pounds low carbing, it was for my 20th high school reunion. I was one of the planners of the event so choosing not to go wasn't an option. And you know how things like that are. Afterwards, all anyone remembers is which girls got fat and which guys are losing their hair. If you've ever been to a reunion, you know that I'm only exaggerating a little.
In any case, I was determined not to go to the reunion in a size 16 dress (as if we wear the dress size on the OUTSIDE of the dress, right?). So in January of that year, I set out on Atkins and by November I had taken off 40 pounds as was down to a size 10....Where I stayed for about 5 minutes before I went back to eating the way I'd eaten before. Not immediately. But a little bit here, a little bit there and before I knew it, 30 of those 40 pounds had crept back on.
So fast forward a few years to this year and the now-infamous cruise I'm going on next month. Once again, my motivation for this life change was not being the fat girl in the family cruise photos.
And I jumped back on the low carb bandwagon. It worked before, it can work again.
I had that date circled on the calendar as the driving force to "get there" by THAT DATE.
OK, so don't get me wrong. I am jumping-out-of-my-skin-happy that I've taken off these 33 pounds. But I have a number in my head that I'm trying to reach and that would mean losing another 7 pounds (or at least 5 more) in the next 2 weeks. And rationally, I know that may not happen.
So am I a failure for not reaching my "event driven" goal?
Of course not. (she says with some conviction).
But I sure feel a little like one. And even as I type those words, I know how RIDICULOUS it sounds to even THINK that.
I mean I've lost 33 pounds. THIRTY THREE. And even if I don't lose another ounce before the trip, I can proudly say that I lost 33 pounds and went down nearly 4 dress sizes. I am thinner now than I think I've been my entire adult life. I have more energy and feel like I am closer than I've ever been to the size I'm supposed to be.
But the true test of my success will not be the weight I've lost to get here but how well I keep it off after my trip. And that's the event we should all be driving towards.
Stay tuned for (a little) less of me.
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6 comments:
I enjoyed reading your blog..some real helpful stuff to know...Thanks..
Thank you!
I hope you'll stop back again.
Scale Mistress,
I can so relate to event driven goals. After having I don't know how many summers that I promised myself I wouldn't wear long pants, I've finally given up, until just recently when I rediscovered the low carb lifestyle. So it's probably too late for this summer, but maybe I'll have to take a trip in December or January, just to wear those shorts I plan on fitting in.
I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one out there who gets their motivation based on event driven goals. I also want to get to a certain number on the scale before the event but 99% of the time I don't make it but I am closer than had I done nothing.
So I agree that using events to get yourself pumped to lose the weight is great but afterwards is the hard part. Once the event is over is so easy to fall back into old patterns. Maybe focusing in on the next event might be an option ;-)
Congrats on losing 33 lbs -- that is incredible!! You'll look and feel fantastic on your cruise.
Thanks so much for the link - you have a great blog!
Deb
33 pounds is awesome...congrats!
I agree that keeping the weight off is what's worth striving for. Events are motivating but once they're over...what keeps you on the path? Great to read some common sense. Nice blog!
Congrats on your loss so far! I'm also driven by events. I wanted to be at x number by a get-together. It didn't happen. I want to be at my goal by my birthday (a little over 2 weeks away) - not gonna happen unless I can lose 25 lbs in the next couple of weeks. And honestly, I don't want to lose that fast. I'd just have bags of skin hanging off of me. LOL But I would be very happy to see another 5lbs or so gone by then. THAT I'm sure I can do. :0)
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