I'm starting things off with a clean slate (hey...it wouldn't be a cliché if it weren't so true!) and admitting that I managed to gain almost 10 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Year's. It's not a failure, though. I wasn't trying at all. Not one bit. I didn't want to "try" and feel like a failure, so I just let myself enjoy it then because the party is over! I know I could have maintained if I'd half tried, but I didn't. And just like anything you may or may not have done, it's in the past. Let go of your failures...and let go of your successes, too. Nothing you did yesterday is going to make much difference today if you don't give it 100% today
Many of you are facing new beginnings today, as am I. When you're making a fresh start, it's often hard to stay motivated. We are most motivated by our successes, and if you're like me, you aren't packing any recent successes! And if you weren't on your best behavior yesterday, what is one little slip up today going to hurt? Well, a lot. It's a mental game. We're taking this walk to better health, and there will be stumbles. When you make a mistake, go around your problem, just as you'd go around a puddle in your path.
Get back on track as soon as you can. When you go around a puddle, you don't keep going off randomly. You get right back on the sidewalk or right back on the trail and you keep walking. Your journey might be a few steps longer as a result, but you can still get to where you were going. Remember, own your mistakes. You will make them. You WILL make mistakes. Don't give up in the face of imperfection. Resolve to keep pushing--get back on the trail, set your sights on your goal, and kick some butt!
On the flip side, don't make excuses for yourself. If you ate a cookie, just admit that you screwed up. Don't justify it by saying it was the last one in the box. Don't assume you'll work it off later. Don't eat it so it won't be "wasted' ... you are not a garbage disposal. Ideally, stop yourself and don't eat it. There are no right answers here. Only you know when you're doing all you can do. And remember, you can get through today giving it 100% or you can give it 90% every day for the rest of your life. While you're justifying that bag of chips to yourself, life will be passing you by and you're missing so much by being trapped in a fat body. The healthy life you want is there for you...you just need to take that first step, get up, and go for it!
