Another d'uh! moment for me...

I've been thinking a lot lately about the changes that I've made that have led me to be successful in my weight loss journey to this point. Although there are a lot of things that have gone in to this, one huge mental hurdle I had to jump was my tendency to beat up on myself every time I did something wrong. I have had to learn that when I do something that is self-defeating, whether in my diet or my exercise routine, that this is OKAY. I am allowed to do this... the real trick here is not to get stuck in the behavior. We all have to allow ourselves to climb back on the proverbial wagon on a regular basis... You can crawl back up weekly, daily, hourly... whatever it takes, but the answer is to not give up just because you've "fallen off."

For me, this was a tough lesson to learn. In the past I had often thought that one cupcake, one trip to the fast food restaurant, or even consuming one whole pizza was an excuse to give up on everything altogether... thinking that I might as well give up because that one pizza was going to show up as a 5 pound weight gain on the scale and I didn't want to face up to that "failure." For some reason, this time it just clicked. I know my weight loss and running training are going incredibly slowly... probably much more slowly than what most people would want... but for me that's okay. It's the way that I know I can be successful at reaching my goals. See, every time I fall off the wagon, I know that I will climb back on it, no matter how many times it's required of me.

Sometimes I even know that I am willingly jumping off the wagon... such as at a family birthday, a vacation, or my anniversary. I refuse to deprive myself of the joys of my life... and enjoying good food shared with my favorite people is one of those joys. The key is that I know I will get back on track as soon as that event is over and continue on the path to my goal(s).Don't use falling off the goal wagon as an excuse to keep messing up. Instead, look at it as an opportunity to prove your own strength. Recognize what you are doing today and give yourself permission to not be perfect. But know that come tomorrow you WILL go back to striving for your goal in a more constructive manner.

So, if you have recently fallen off the goal wagon and need to climb back on tomorrow... by all means do it! Don't wait for next Monday. If you fall off tomorrow, don't let it get the best of you and give up altogether. Stop beating yourself up about it. Instead, get back on that wagon again. And again. And again. You are worth climbing back on board... no matter how many times it's required of you too.

Yesterday's Run
5.55 Miles
66 Minutes
5.0 mph