As someone who has been overweight most of her life, maintaining weight loss can be a slippery slope. Recently we took a mini-break and spent the long weekend in Auckland. As we always do, we tend to eat out and have a few treats. But whenever we are away, we do walk a lot more, which usually balances itself out. After our last trip, I'd gained half a kilogram. When I weighed myself when we got home, I thought, "No problem, I'll get back on track and it will come off."
As someone who has been overweight most of her life, maintaining weight loss can be a slippery slope. Recently we took a mini-break and spent the long weekend in Auckland. As we always do, we tend to eat out and have a few treats. But whenever we are away, we do walk a lot more, which usually balances itself out. After our last trip, I'd gained half a kilogram. When I weighed myself when we got home, I thought, "No problem, I'll get back on track and it will come off." But, as I'm sure you are aware, getting back on track can at times be easier said than done. If like me, you have a tendency to enjoy foods that are not so healthy or use food for emotional reasons, dropping the habit can be challenging. What followed for me was a week of eating out a few times, having one or two more treats, and before I knew it, I added another half a kilogram. So, this morning, I'm 1kg up on what I was 10 days ago. And, that's how easily it can happen. If I wasn't on this journey of being very aware of what I am eating and how my body feels, I could easily make excuses not to weigh myself. In the past, this kind of pattern would be the start of a downward spiral. I'd keep eating foods that are not good for me, and gain another kilogram, and another, and another. Not this time. For me, this time around, I'm allowing myself to have a couple of treat meals each week, and as always, when I'm on holiday, I do have extras. What's important here, is stopping when I get home. Today it's Monday and my regular morning routine is to take myself off to a cafe for a business planning session with tea and cake. This is something I really look forward to, however today, I'm skipping the cake. This is not about punishing myself for having too many treats last week. It's about being honest with myself. It's about being realistic about the fact that if I keep having these foods, I will gain more weight. Next week I will be back to my regular tea and cake, but today, I'll skip the sweets. What I will do this week is carefully monitor the amount of food I'm eating, step up my walking and choose lighter foods that will help me lose the weight I have gained. What I'm not doing is beating myself up, falling even further off track or taking the, what the hell road. No way. I have worked too hard for what I now have to throw it all away. I love being slimmer, I have more energy, I'm down two sizes in my clothing and even then they are comfortable, rather than tight like they were. This week I will refocus, work hard and get the weight off.
Till next time,
