Pushing 40

I’ll tell you what:  it’s been a hell of a week.  🙂

I hit the 40 pound weight loss mark, which was very exciting!  Two more pounds till 339, which will be even more exciting.  Then, of course, there’s 50 lbs lost when I will have finally redeemed myself from losing 50 pounds in 2009 and gaining it back.  After that, it’s uncharted territory.

A week ago, I ate at McDonald’s for the first time in 5 months.  It was not the delicious thing I remembered it to be – rather, it was dry and disgusting.  I was shocked as hell to realize that, after a lifetime of loving McDonald’s food.  I now believe 100% that fast food has a “dumbing down” effect on our sense of taste – and that if we just cut it out of our lives completely, it’s only a matter of time before we reboot our taste buds.  Before I performed the Imaginary Lap Band experiment on myself last December, I would have chosen McDonald’s over most healthy cooking every time.  Back then, cooking was a pain in the ass.  It was much easier to drive thru somewhere or call for take-out than to actually cook a meal.  Now cooking is my preference, even if I do find the clean up to be a pain in the ass.  🙂  It’s worth it to me…because I’m breaking free from the fat girl that’s been holding me prisoner for over 20 years.

Hindsight is 20/20.  Looking back, I realize that I was treating myself as though I wasn’t worth the trouble.  I believe this was a hangover from childhood…from a time when some adults in my life stood by and watched The King put me through years of emotional terror.  I was just a kid and was unable to see that there was nothing wrong with me…it was the adults who were screwed up.  Unfortunately, I just knew in my young heart that their inaction meant that I wasn’t worth the trouble of defending.  Of course, the real situation was much more complicated than that – but a child simplifies it and turns the blame on themselves rather than admit there are adults in their lives who have no idea what the hell they’re doing…which is exactly what I did.  So I grew up with that “less than worthy” mentality.  As if weight loss isn’t hard enough.

I also ate a brownie last weekend.  *gasp*  Read the When Brownies Attack post to find out what happened there.  Suffice to say that I made two calculated food gambles and both reassured me of my continued awesomeness.  🙂

As I write this, I’m smiling ear to ear…because I know that I have really changed.  This isn’t the wishful thinking I’ve done during a million healthy living attempts in my life.  This is real.  This is true.  There is no feeling like actually knowing in your gut that you’ve changed for the better.  It’s joyous and exciting and…wonderful – and if you’re reading this and wishing that you were feeling the same way, I have one thing to say to you:  keep moving forward.  You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to starve yourself, and you don’t have to do two hours of exercise a night.  Just keep…moving…forward.  Make every week…every day…every minute better than the one before.  You’ll get there.  Give up and you get nowhere.  It’s up to you and only you.

 

When I first decided to do this back in December, I had to consciously try at everything.  Every little damn thing was a conscious decision…

Get up in the morning, remember not to spend all my time zoning out during the news.  Make a healthy breakfast.  Do not drive thru Starbucks.

Drink water and eat snacks at work.  Chew gum during cravings.  The vending machine is NOT to be used.

As soon as I get home, pack lunch for the next day so I don’t forget.  Leave note on my purse so I don’t forget to take it.  Cook a healthy dinner and eat before 7 pm.

Stick to the list when grocery shopping.  Do not walk through frozen section.  Avert eyes when near the ice cream!  Repeat “I don’t need it” over and over in my head.  🙂 When I feel deprived, remind myself that I have to work now to see results later…and that my decisions will be worth it.

Now it’s 5 months later and I don’t have to remind myself to do any of these things.  What I’m trying to say is…it’s hard as hell in the beginning, but if you stick with it and persevere, you will rock at this.  You will be an effing ninja. Compared to how long and how hard you’ve been fighting this fight, a few months is nothing at all.

Think about it this way:  do you get up in the morning and think “Eh…I don’t feel like brushing my teeth this morning.”  (And I think I speak for us all when I say I hope not!)  Or…I don’t feel like taking a shower.  I’ll just be funky all day.  Do you have to think about whether or not you should feed your children?  You just do it, right?

Healthy eating can be just as automatic…you just have to grow the habit.

When I was a wee little girl, I didn’t automatically get up and brush my teeth in the morning before school.  It took lots of coaching by Mom to teach me the good habit of oral hygiene.  Now I stumble to the bathroom every morning and grab my toothbrush…not even thinking about it.  It’s intrinsic.  It’s something I just do.

Healthy eating habits aren’t any different.  Sure, it’s tough at first.  It’s new and seems cumbersome and inconvenient at times.  It would feel better to go back to the safety of your “normal” life…downing giant servings of whatever your guilty pleasures are.  You need to be on point for the first few months.  Focused.  Relentless.  Family may have to tolerate menu changes – or you may have to steel yourself and make a separate meal for them.  Friends may have to understand when you don’t want to eat out at first…or when you don’t want your share of dessert.  You should be prepared to be your staunchest defender.  In extreme cases, you may need to remove very negative people from your life.  Set your boundaries, dig in your heels, and start this habit.  These first few months are a small investment when you consider the larger picture.  It’s like I always say:  a year from now, you’ll wish you’d started today.

I’m only 5 months into this process and I have a long, long way to go.  I’m so glad I started.  I’ve already changed in some very important ways.  A million times before, I’d hear the phrase “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” and I would mentally roll my eyes and think yeah yeah yeah…just get me there already!  Now I get it.  I’m growing…and I’m grateful.  And for all my Hot Mess brothers and sisters out there who share the same struggles, this is my deepest wish for you as well.

You are the only one who can do this for yourself…and believe me…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40 pounds gone and I’m still revving my engines!

9 thoughts on “Pushing 40

  1. I totally agree with you!  The hardest thing was to get started and stick with it for the first two weeks.  I also hit my 40 pounds lost this week.  It’s so exciting and I can’t wait to get to 50!  And I agree about the fast food too, it’s just not as good as it used to be.  Congrats on your loss!!

  2. I hear everything you are saying.  I am down about 55 lbs with 60 more to go.  We had a grad party to go to today and I had plans to go pick up a few groceries right after that so I could prepare a couple of dishes when I got home. However, it is amazing how one phone call changes that…off to a service call we go.  By the time we get back and hit the stores it is now almost 7pm.  So much for cooking tonight.  So we decide to grab chinese at Hyvee…something I haven’t had for months…and it was so disgusting…I only ate about half of it and threw it away.  Like you said, it is amazing how our tastes change and things we used to think of as so good suddenly aren’t that good.  I am excited to try my new recipes tomorrow night when i get off of work.  You are doing great!  Keep up the good work.

  3. I use to CRAVE Whataburger ( it’s a Texas thing) alllll the time. Now I would much rather fire up the grill and make an awesome meal at home! You inspire me every day! Congrats on the big 40 & many more to come off!!!

  4. Get out your pom poms because you’re my official weight loss cheerleader. This was such a great blog to read first thing this morning. I’m pumped up for another week of healthing eating and butt moving.

  5. A good trick to remembering your lunch is putting your car keys in the lunch bag. Can’t leave the house without the keys or the lunch!

  6. Congratulations on losing 40 lbs.  What an accomplishment!  And you are so right about McDonald’s not tasting good after you haven’t eaten it in a while- it’s just so salty!  Thanks for stopping by to make my SITS day so fun.  

  7. “There is no feeling like actually knowing in your gut that you’ve changed for the better.”
    Yes.  I am right there with you and there is no better feeling.  I like playing it close to the chest as well because I don’t NEED to shout it from the mountaintops.  No one else will understand it but me.  (And my husband, who is doing it with my after I was doing it myself for 50 days.  NOW I’m on day 100 and he’s on day 50!)

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