If you have not read this, (I will tell you…but we have to talk about this first) please do that first. Seriously. Thanks
Yeah, that will be at the beginning of all these posts. I am kinda serious about it. I realize I can be kinda snarky, this topic is kinda sensitive, and we all beat ourselves up enough. It is important to me that you know that is NOT happening here.
If you missed my First Steps…
…or Some Excuses
This is not supposed to be the next step…this revelation actually didn’t hit me until my Daniel Fast. But, with it being the Nation’s Birthday tomorrow, I figured we should talk about cake.
This is a beautiful, nearly ready to give birth, 210 pound April Groves. And 210 may not be so bad…except I started at 130. 80 pounds ladies and gentleman (look at that neck!) And while my Savannah was a respectable 8lbs 15ozs, that is still little better than 10% of my total weight gained.
Since I was in the Navy, I had to go back to work 6 weeks after her birth. While you can wear your maternity uniform for a while after that, who in world does that? In my 11 years in the Navy, I NEVER saw one woman come back from maternity leave in their maternity uniform. We maybe should have, but we did not.
The Cliff Note’s version is I got down to 160 before I had to go back to work. Yeah, that uniform was a sight. I had a job conducive to regular and extended gym time and a great workout buddy (not as great as you, Mel!) Next thing you know, my post pregnancy body was doing some crazy stuff. So I egged it on. Atkins was king and the gym was my friend. I got down to a lean 120 pounds with muscles to boot.
I learned a lot on that journey. I learned that ~
- water was the absolute best thing I could put in my body – ever.
- Weight training is the key to all shape issues.
- Weights can be heavy, and that is good.
- Food matters.
- You can get your body back.
But, what I didn’t learn was the importance of sustainable change. My health and wellness was not in a GNC store or a diet book or a fitness magazine. I thought that it was and I loved them all. But, as we all know, over the course of the years to come, I would put back on 40 of those pounds – and I ain’t knocked up.
I say ALL of that for a few reasons
- If you have taken off and put on, you are not alone
- If you have started, quit, started again, you are not alone
- If you have tried stuff that worked and then didn’t, you are not alone
- If you have huge goals to make, you are not alone
Basically, you are not alone.
I chose to do a hard reset with my eating at the beginning of the year. I will get into the hows and the whys later, but for now I will just say that the Daniel Fast was one of the best choices I ever made. I read most of the book. In it was my “Damn it!” moment. Face palm included.
Susan Gregory said something that should be obvious. Obviously, it wasn’t. She discussed a situation that occurred during one of her fast times. Her daughter in law had prepared a special meal. In that meal were foods not appropriate for the fast. Do you know what Susan did? She enjoyed the meal with her family.
She cheated. She gave her self some breathing room. She enjoyed her life. She practiced moderation. She was not stuck up about it!
And that’s what I had been. Totally stuck up. Either all or nothing. Militant or complacent. That isn’t a lifestyle – it is a life sentence. And that mentality only leaves you looking for parole!
I came to understand that there are times when strict discipline is necessary, especially during the beginning stages of a particularly difficult habit change. But, while many of us believe that grace and forgiveness are wonderful gifts to give to others, we rarely find it appropriate to gift it to ourselves.
Now, I gauge myself.
- Have I been allowing too much “moderation?” It is easy to tell – I feel bad. I call them food hangovers or endorphin withdraws.
- Am I about to partake in something for which I know I have very little control? I try very hard not to eat donuts. I love them. I will eat the whole box. Moderation be damned. Yeah, I need a 12 step. I probably won’t eat even one because I just can’t.
- Am I going to enjoy this or feel guilty about it? If it is just going to make you sad, leave it alone.
So tomorrow I will probably not have any cake (it is kinda like the donut thing). But I will most likely eat a burger. I may even put cheese on it! Of course, I will probably log some miles before the festivities too.
Because it isn’t about quick fixes – it is about living my best life.
Enjoy the holiday!
Good stuff, April. Solid advice! I tend to to be all or none. A legalist or a free- bird. Neither is fulfilling or keeps me at my goal for long. Thank you for sharing. Happy 4th!!
Happy 4th to you and yours Kim! Yeah, doesn’t work for me either…not to mention it usually injects large amounts of negativity into all surrounding things…