Almost There!
So - the final weigh-in for the St. Luke's $10,000 Weight Loss Challenge is just a few days away. Although I haven't quite reached my weight loss goal, I see some great changes I've made in my lifestyle. Let me point out that I'm not giving up on the weight loss goal, but I also think it's important to see the little successes I've made.
Here are a few I've seen in me: 1) I'm making better choices with food. I'm not 100% "on target", but I'm 80% and that's a heck of a lot better than I was before I started the Challenge. 2) In making those better choices, I realize how eating good food makes me feel more energized and less sluggish. 3) I've cut WAY down on processed foods. I cook a lot more with simple, but flavorful, ingredients. 4) I'm more patient with myself.
I was already pretty active, so seeing bodily changes will take a lot longer with me than with others -- which is okay. But that doesn't give me the green light to give up or stop. It means I just have to keep working at it.
I just finished reading this book about ultra-marathoners -- NO, it's not something I'm planning on doing, but it had some great life lessons in it. The author was in a 50 mile race in Mexico with some of the top ultra marathoners in the world. He wasn't even close. When the race started, he was given a great piece of advice that I am keeping with me. He was told to not worry about beating other people, but to beat the course. Finish the run and THAT is what will make him a "winner." He finished 6 hours behind the winner, but he finished and THAT'S a win.
My goal now is that I'm going to beat the course in my weight loss "race" -- I never set out to win this challenge, I set out to change my lifestyle, and in small, slow, steady steps, I'm doing it. Now I just have to stick with it.