The Secret Sauce

Day 62

Self Pity
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.

D.H. Lawrence

Master Chief John James Urgayle recites this poem in one of my all time favorite movies G.I. Jane. Whenever I'm faced with challenges I recall this poem. It speaks to me. It reminds me that feeling sorry for myself is not an option. Not that I'm feeling sorry for myself. That is absolutely not the case at all.

But, I find myself thinking about this poem tonight because I have a few friends who have recently embarked on their own personal weight loss journey. In the beginning (and points in between), it's easy to get discouraged. Despite my recent success, there have been weeks when seemingly nothing happened that caused me to doubt myself. I'm by no means an expert. I can only relay what I've learned so far.

My "Secrets" to Success

1. Set SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound.
2. Don't give up. Change does happen if you keep working at it.
3. If you falter, and at some point you will, forgive yourself and move on.
4. Focus on progression not perfection. Ditch the "All" or "Nothing" mentality.
5. Make lifestyle changes that you can live with long term. Diets don't work.
6. Eat real food and lay off the refined sugar.
7. Get moving. But, start where you are. I could barely do 20 minutes in the beginning.
8. Allow yourself the occasional free meal or free day.
9. Take Before Pictures and Progress pictures at 4 week intervals.
10. The tape measure is your friend especially when the scale won't cooperate.

There are so many of us out there looking for the magic bullet... the secret sauce... the quick fix. The unfortunate truth is that there isn't one. Making peace with this fact is key. I'm not going to wake up next month and suddenly weigh 145. But, I will likely wake up next month weighing 225 and that will be less than I've weighed in five years. I will celebrate that milestone mightily.

Hang in there my compadres. Don't give up. If you need support. I'm right here.

Cheers!

Margaret