another 1.8 gone

[Dia Minha]

I have only been on this board for two days. However, after WI(Weigh In) tonight I couldn't wait to share my success with you wonderful people. I tend to hit a physical platteau every 20lbs and a mental one every 10lbs. I just got over my 20lb physical planteau and ran right through my mental one without a pause.

There are 3 questions you should ask yourself every time you come to an obstacle: What do I want? How can I get it? Am I willing to do what it takes? I always get stuck on the what do I want? Just saying I want to lose weight is not enough. I need to be able to define WHY I want to lose weight.

Here are some things on my list. I just haven't seemed to find THE ONE or the right combination of reasons to get me to my goal. Or maybe when it comes right down to it, I just forget my reasons. And thus, when faced with with the tough decisions I so many times make the wrong one.

1-When I make good food choices, I feel better physically. I want to feel better.

2-As I lose weight I am more comfortable. I want to feel comfortable not only in the clothes I would love to be able to wear, but in my own skin.

3-As I reach my goals I become more confident. I want to feel confident, especially in social situations.

4-I always allow my body image to affect my self image. I want to be able to seperate the two, yet, at the same time change my body image positively.

5- Right before getting pregnant with my 3rd child, when I was at my heaviest non-pregnant weight, I came across a couple that replays in my mind often. A very attractive, thin, woman walking away from her husband and her husband watching her every move. You could just tell that he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. You could just see it pour out of his face. I want my husband to look at me like that, and believe him.

So what about you. Why do you want to lose weight? What do you think you will acheive by reaching your goal weight? Next time I'll ask you what's holding you back. So be thinking on that.

Dia

[Big_Sissy]

I have no clue at that other stuff, but GREAT job on the WI! Weight it my biggest nemesis, and it's refreshing to see other that are winning the war, because I'm certainly not.

[5ft Diva]

Hmm, I need to use a few brain cells to answer your question.

Here's something that you have to understand about me. I really don't care about the weight enough to lose it because it can be misleading. Self image is what I care about so instead of trying to lose weight, I just try to get into shape. I have to go about it through the back door though. I can't do aerobics, it just doesn't work for me, but as you can see from my blogs, I'm training for a 5K that I will be running on the 4th of July, w/ a few others from this site. It is the beginning of a long friendship with my dream - The Triathlon.

A few years ago I attended a family reunion and I was enamored by three of my cousins who had spent like six to eight months in training for a triathlon and had just completed it. They were radiantly beautiful! And I don't mean the model beauty that first comes to one's mind. I mean the kind where you have SOOOO much inner beauty that there isn't enough room to contain it so you literally end up glowing because it's bursting at the seams. They were confident. They were relaxed (this was probably the biggest for me). They were unstoppable. Their minds were so alert, and yes, they were also thin and healthy. It was like nothing could get in their way. The very first time I had heard of a triathlon I thought the idea of it would be fun but I never thought it could be within my reach - that was for serious athletes. But here were these women, with young, demanding families, just like mine, and they were able to do it so I spent a good amount of time talking to them about it and decided that I would one day complete one myself. I don't know how to explain it. It was like a part of me had been sleeping for a long time and all of a sudden this part of me woke up and started screaming at the top of my lungs that I had to do this - it was like gasping for air. I honestly can say I have never wanted anything more. So, last summer I started to train for one and it was a bit too much. Hence, the 5K...it's the first (and for me the hardest) hurdle to get over and I can honestly say it's been one of the most amazing and fulfilling experiences of my life.

But back to the losing weight part. My self image would love it if I could lose about 20 lbs and like I said before, if I'm gonna do it, I'll have to do it by coming through the back door. But honestly, the weight is just a bonus. The rewards I get from accomplishing these goals are incomparable to just losing weight. I'll have self discipline. I'll have self-respect. I'll have self-esteem. I'll be tough mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I am willing to pay the price to get there no matter how many years it takes me. I am worth it! So to answer your question, why do I want to lose the weight? Losing my weight is like a pit stop to the triathlon and when I lose the weight, it'll help me see how far I've come along on that road headed towards "If I can do this, I can do anything".

[LostnFound]

I love what 5'd wrote about having self-discipline, self-respect and self-esteem. If I can grow, even slightly in these areas I will feel so much more empowered in my life. I copied that and wrote it down to read often to myself.

I want to lose weight to have a healthier lifestyle. I use to be much more active in life. I use to ski, play on a co-ed softball team, and golf. I have stopped doing these things because I have no endurance to do these things.
Also, time is a factor but I can manage that. I want to try new physical activites like snow shoeing or long hikes in the mountains.

I want to play with my children outside or go on a bike ride with them and not get tired. I want to set a good example to my children. I want to wear jeans and short sleeved shirts and not constantly worry about my saggy arms or my rolly polly gut.

I don't have a set amount of weight that I want to lose. I just want to feel good on the inside and on the outside and live a much more active life.

[5ft Diva]

I'm with you LnF! That was a great way to put it.

[Imahoot]

Training for something and setting goals is 1/2 the battle. You are doing fine I am sure 5D.

[Imahoot]

Sorry, I forgot to answer.

I started out a few months ago with the goal that I wanted to tone and feel better. I felt like my body was falling apart as well as who I was. I used to be very active and skinny and putting on weight has effected everything for me. Body image, lifestyle, ability to stay healthy, and keeping up with my kids.

Mostly stress was the cause of overeating. Lack of exercise was due to the fact that I had too much on my plate. I was homeschooling Jacob before Kindergarten and tryng to raise a toddler and teen besides. Put in there a home business and pure craziness.

When Jacob started school in September I knew that I had a goal and that was to take time for me so that I am a better mother, wife, and person. I needed it! I started taking time to go to the motocross tracks on Friday and getting my agression and stress out on the track. (my favorite form of exercise) Then I started going to the gym. I actually had a few appointments with a personal trainer to make sure that I was doing the right thing and that really did it for me. He set me up on an intense weight lifting and cardio routine. I thought he was crazy! I had the idea that weight lifting was going to make be look too buff and I would gain. He showed me that it tones up everything and I found improvements almost immediately. Not weight but image things. The weight has since then just started coming off. I feel SO good and to me that is the best thing. I have lost ten pounds as of today and I feel great. I still have a lot to go but now I have something to show for all of my hard work. It was the hardest thing to do to carve out time for me but in the end it is helping me a lot more.

Now onto making a new goal.

[Dia Minha]

I love reading all of your reasons why you want to lose weight. The one thing I noticed was how every one is hear for all the same basic reasons. However, because each individual said it in a different way, little light bulbs were going off in my head. It got me thinking about back door and how I might be able to find my back door, like 5D, and maybe sneak into accomplishing my goals. Even though I want it, I tend to freak out a little the closer I get, and I just might need a back door to sneak on in.

I also liked how every one seemed to be concentrating on how they felt, and how they wanted to feel, instead of relying on the scale. I tend to let what the scale says, influence how I feel about what I've accomplished. If I maintain or have a gain one week, I tend to slide, because it makes me feel like my hard work isn't paying off, so why bother. However if I have a loss I tend to slip, because I did so well, I shouldn't have to work so hard right? It's a never ending battle with a number that you just can't win.

Thanks. You are all awesome.

Dia

[5ft Diva]

Thanks for starting the thread. You really got my proactive side to come out!