We are all recovering from the stomach flu. My daughter was the first to get it and she had it worse. My husband and I were hit next and at the same time. While I’ve recovered, he’s not quite back to normal yet. (When you don’t have a colon, your body recovers more slowly). We both lost weight. Ironically, one of my written goals for 2017 is to slim down to 115 lbs. Well, after a few days of vomiting and no appetite, I’m there. My scale read 115.4 lbs this morning and I intend to bank on that unexpected head start.
Wanting to lose more weight when you are not overweight may sound superficial. The idea is to stop settling for average, quit making excuses and challenge myself towards excellence.
Being slim doesn’t just happen for me, I have to work at it. I have found that when I am slim and fit, I also tend to perform better in all other areas of my life.
When I am slim, that means I am eating well. That means I am working out. That means I am waking up early. That means I am going to bed at a decent time. That means I am rested AND I am full of energy. That means I feel amazing!
This one seemingly shallow goal requires that I become a specific kind of person.
Being slim requires I be organized. It’s no secret that to lose weight, I must burn more calories than I ingest. I need to be more active so I’ve scheduled my weekly workouts. They will happen first thing in the morning. I’ve also allowed time for stretching and I will be taking up yoga once a week. I know that the more I workout, the more I need to be gentle to my body. That’s also why I’ve booked a bi-monthly massage. This is not a luxury (though I’ll concede I am grateful that I can afford it). I consider it a necessity for long term success. I cannot demand so much more effort from my body and not give it the care and rest it will need to sustain that effort.
Being slim requires I be prepared. I will need the right kind of foods in the house. This means being diligent with my grocery shopping. I will need to make time for prepping and cooking healthy meals. I will need to pack food whenever I leave home for an extended period of time so I am not tempted by high calorie options. I know that night time munching is my weakness so I’ve stocked up on herbal tea and flavored protein powders. I hope to trick my sweet tooth into ignoring the chocolate (Oh and I don’t even stock whipped cream in the house any more!).
Being slim requires I be disciplined. Once I’ve planned, once I’ve organized, it is up to me to stick with the program. There is no going around this. That’s the tough part. That’s also the most rewarding part. I am making allowances for “treats” on Sundays (I’m not crazy. I know I can’t live without eating a chocolate croissant once in a while) but it will be clean eating the rest of the week. No sampling the ice cream at Costco. No eating the cookies just because the neighbor brought them over.
Being slim requires I be flexible. I know glitches are bound to happen and it will be important to go with the flow.
Being slim requires I value long term gain over short term pain and discomfort.
It forces me to look beyond my immediate whims.
When I am that kind of person, I respect myself more. I have more self confidence.
When I am that kind of person, I dream bigger. I don’t shy away from big scary projects.
When I am that kind of person, I am who I want to be.
Ultimately, it’s not about a number on the scale but the process that takes you there: what you have to do, who you have to be…and who you become!
Being slim won’t accomplish world peace, yet the ripple effect expands so much farther than one can imagine.
It seems logical that in order to take me far in life, the vessel carrying my soul must be strong, limber and resilient. This makes it beautiful.
The kind of beautiful that only work, sweat and dedication can earn.
The kind of beautiful that comes from being proud of yourself.
The kind of beautiful I want to role model for my daughter.
There is no junk food that tastes as good as feeling that kind of beautiful.
Here’s to 2017.
To feeling incredibly healthy,
incredibly strong and…
incredibly beautiful. 😉
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