Hooray! The small amount of weight I gained over the holidays is gone along with an additional half pound, giving me a total weight loss of: ((((TA DA)))) 10.1 pounds. This is huge for me because I honestly didn't think I had it in me to give losing weight another go.
I"ll be having some difficult days ahead though. February 2, Ground Hog Day, will by mine and hubby's 40'th wedding anniversary. (I was a child bride...hahaha). We made it this long by the grace of God and a teaching we embraced years ago from an adult Sunday school class. Our teacher espoused this idea: murder, yes...divorce, no!
There have been times when we felt like murdering each other, if not physically, in spirit. And those were the times when we committed ourselves to the marriage more so than to each other. When it is difficult to feel the love---mind you, it's there---it's hard to think of yourself as committed to your spouse. But walking by faith, in the belief that we were honoring God and having a good testimony before others, attesting to our belief in and commitment to Jesus Christ, was our determined goal and "self" often had to die.
Of course an anniversary always means special food and usually a box of chocolates to accompany the flowers. And I will indulge. Then, right on the heels of that is Valentine's day! Which, of course, means ---duh---more chocolate! (I do love chocolate). And not long after Valentine's is my birthday in March. And I failed to mention Super Bowl Sunday....hahaha....which means some party type finger foods at our house. Hubby enjoys the game and food while I enjoy mainly the food. I'm not a huge fan of football....just can't seem to get it in my head how the "downs" work for one thing. But I can celebrate most anything, even the Super Bowl.
I'm not dreading dealing with these occasions though. After all these years and attempts at managing my weight I think I may finally have the handle on how to succeed. A key element is to remind myself it is a marathon, not a sprint, and that by persevering I will reach my goal. Taking a little longer is fine by me. The alternative is to "quit" my plan and where would that get me? Not to the place I want to be for sure.
When I started this journey September 24, 2007 my goal was to loose 20 pounds. I'm halfway there. It's a good feeling but how I "feel" is not the determinant for my eating. Neither is the scale. My weight management plan is the determinant, the map if you like, and following it will direct me to my destination.
There may be a few side trips along the way, but eventually I will arrive and will also have enjoyed the trip.
*****************************************************************
I'm a reforming perfectionist. It's a good thing to desire to do your best, but perfectionism can be a form of bondage. It's message is " if you can't be perfect don't try" or "if you can't be perfect quit". I've quit so many diet attempts in the past because I had one bad day, and feeling like I'd fail, I'd think what's the point.
The point is no one is perfect. Going into a diet, keep that in mind.
At a Weight Watchers meeting a very large lady, who was lovely---very attractive and a talented artist---shared a quote with us taught her by her grandmother. It went like this:
"Good, better, best.
Never let it rest.
Until good is better.
And better is best."
Upon hearing that I sat there in my chair and thought "honey, (we say that in the south :-D) that is going to be your downfall---sometimes "good" is good enough." Sad to say she didn't last very long--she came maybe two or three times and I never saw her again.
I grew up with some of the same pressure as she did. When I'd show my daddy my 98 grade he'd always say "honey, that's good...but why didn't you get a hundred?". I loved my daddy and in an attempt to please him tried harder and was never satisfied with my good effort, it always had to be better in an attempt to be best.
It's taken me years to get past achieving perfection....I've discovered excellence is a more worthy goal. But, mind you, it takes wisdom to ascertain when "enough" is enough.
Daddy meant me no harm and had no idea of what he was teaching me. He only had a 4'th grade education and he wanted to instill in me that good grades are important.
But grades don't tell the whole story about a person's education. Having a degree doesn't necessarily insure a person has acquired wisdom.
Neither does the scale tell the whole story. That number on the scale does not truly reveal your effort and is not a "grade". Don't let it have power over you...don't be in bondage to it.
Be sure to have a good weight management/loss plan. And follow the plan, knowing that you will not be perfect, but determining to persevere.
I"ll be having some difficult days ahead though. February 2, Ground Hog Day, will by mine and hubby's 40'th wedding anniversary. (I was a child bride...hahaha). We made it this long by the grace of God and a teaching we embraced years ago from an adult Sunday school class. Our teacher espoused this idea: murder, yes...divorce, no!
There have been times when we felt like murdering each other, if not physically, in spirit. And those were the times when we committed ourselves to the marriage more so than to each other. When it is difficult to feel the love---mind you, it's there---it's hard to think of yourself as committed to your spouse. But walking by faith, in the belief that we were honoring God and having a good testimony before others, attesting to our belief in and commitment to Jesus Christ, was our determined goal and "self" often had to die.
Of course an anniversary always means special food and usually a box of chocolates to accompany the flowers. And I will indulge. Then, right on the heels of that is Valentine's day! Which, of course, means ---duh---more chocolate! (I do love chocolate). And not long after Valentine's is my birthday in March. And I failed to mention Super Bowl Sunday....hahaha....which means some party type finger foods at our house. Hubby enjoys the game and food while I enjoy mainly the food. I'm not a huge fan of football....just can't seem to get it in my head how the "downs" work for one thing. But I can celebrate most anything, even the Super Bowl.
I'm not dreading dealing with these occasions though. After all these years and attempts at managing my weight I think I may finally have the handle on how to succeed. A key element is to remind myself it is a marathon, not a sprint, and that by persevering I will reach my goal. Taking a little longer is fine by me. The alternative is to "quit" my plan and where would that get me? Not to the place I want to be for sure.
When I started this journey September 24, 2007 my goal was to loose 20 pounds. I'm halfway there. It's a good feeling but how I "feel" is not the determinant for my eating. Neither is the scale. My weight management plan is the determinant, the map if you like, and following it will direct me to my destination.
There may be a few side trips along the way, but eventually I will arrive and will also have enjoyed the trip.
*****************************************************************
I'm a reforming perfectionist. It's a good thing to desire to do your best, but perfectionism can be a form of bondage. It's message is " if you can't be perfect don't try" or "if you can't be perfect quit". I've quit so many diet attempts in the past because I had one bad day, and feeling like I'd fail, I'd think what's the point.
The point is no one is perfect. Going into a diet, keep that in mind.
At a Weight Watchers meeting a very large lady, who was lovely---very attractive and a talented artist---shared a quote with us taught her by her grandmother. It went like this:
"Good, better, best.
Never let it rest.
Until good is better.
And better is best."
Upon hearing that I sat there in my chair and thought "honey, (we say that in the south :-D) that is going to be your downfall---sometimes "good" is good enough." Sad to say she didn't last very long--she came maybe two or three times and I never saw her again.
I grew up with some of the same pressure as she did. When I'd show my daddy my 98 grade he'd always say "honey, that's good...but why didn't you get a hundred?". I loved my daddy and in an attempt to please him tried harder and was never satisfied with my good effort, it always had to be better in an attempt to be best.
It's taken me years to get past achieving perfection....I've discovered excellence is a more worthy goal. But, mind you, it takes wisdom to ascertain when "enough" is enough.
Daddy meant me no harm and had no idea of what he was teaching me. He only had a 4'th grade education and he wanted to instill in me that good grades are important.
But grades don't tell the whole story about a person's education. Having a degree doesn't necessarily insure a person has acquired wisdom.
Neither does the scale tell the whole story. That number on the scale does not truly reveal your effort and is not a "grade". Don't let it have power over you...don't be in bondage to it.
Be sure to have a good weight management/loss plan. And follow the plan, knowing that you will not be perfect, but determining to persevere.
***************************************************
Postscript: I wrote this post on Saturday. Then Sunday I read Jonathan's post dealing with perfection...and Sunday night Kathy's post dealing with the same. We are having similar thoughts and blogging them. Are the moon and stars aligned or something? Great coincidence though because so many of us deal with the problems stemming from the desire to be perfect.