A New Year - Time To Hit The Refresh Button

Happy New Year and welcome 2014!!!!  A new year brings forth the opportunity to turn a page on the book of your life continue your story.  (I love the above quote - even though tomorrow is really today)

I had many mixed emotions when it came time to step on the scale this morning.  After all I haven't been on the scale since August 28th, 2012.  This was when I reached my goal of losing 100 pounds (actually reached 102).  The entire month prior to reaching my goal I became fascinated with that number on the scale and was feeling a little burnt out.  I had decided that I needed to step away from the scale, stop obsessing on a number, and just live healthy.  That worked really well for a little while then I hit a few bumps in the road.  I gave into some old unhealthy habits, gave into my food addiction and emotional eating, stopped logging my food intake and exercise, had to take a little bit of time off away from the gym when I got sick, and was going through a bit of a depression.

Then came the moment this morning...

I knew the number would be higher than my last weigh-in but this was not what I had expected.  Since my last weigh-in roughly four months ago I have gained back 29.4 pounds.  My first emotions were anger and disappointment....how could I let this happen?  I put in so much hard work last year just to let this come back on so quickly.  I felt like I let myself down plus I couldn't help but think of all of the people that have been my biggest supporters and cheerleaders.  What would they think? 

My next thought was trying to justify some of this...after all I have still been in the gym during most of this time period and have been working with weight, so a little bit of this gain must be some muscle.  Also, I have been partaking in a great deal of processed foods which contain a lot of salt.  So I'm sure I have some fluid retention.

This moment is when the old me would have thrown my hands up in the air and just said "forget it" and just let the whole thing unravel (which I did once years ago).  The new me this time around looked at myself in the mirror, wiped away my tears, and said "you got this".  There is no way I am going to let this little setback get in my way.  I am reminded that is a lifelong struggle and journey and that this is something I need to always keep an eye on.

So, back to the basics and what got me to where I was...

First, is the scale.  I need get on this weekly.  This way if I tend to get out of hand that scale will remind me that it is time to put things in check.  Maybe not, but I honestly feel that I would have gotten on the scale during this four month hiatus and saw the number creeping up it would have given me a wake up call.

Next, FOOD (and drink)!!!  I have turned to old comforts, bad habits, convenience, and lots of things that I need to limit or completely cut out.  First things first, SODA.  I had pretty much cut this out of my life.  When I became sick with a cold I started drinking ginger ale.  This then turned into more and more soda each day.  With all of the reading I did last year, I know that this also has contributed to my sugar cravings that have also come back.  Then there are the CARBS....these were always a comfort food in bad times, in cold weather.  I went back to eating a lot more pasta, bread, which I had previously cut back substantially.  During this time I also turned back to the bad habit of eating fast food.  After a long day at work followed by the gym, the last thing I wanted to do was go home and make a healthy meal.  Lots of added calories that no gym workout can help.  During this time I also cut back on my veggie and fruit intake....such a bad idea.

Then there are the two P's...planning and preparation.  These were both a huge part of my success.  I would take each weekend to plan the week ahead with menus, making things in advance, cutting and prepping fruits and veggies, measuring out portion sizes of snack.

Lastly....logging.  I was using MyFitnessPal to document everything - what I was eating, the exercise I was doing, my weight, measurements.  This is so key.

I have all the tools, the know how, and the history to get back on track and continue my successes.

I am thankful for all of the lessons learned (even the struggles and failures).  They make me stronger and give me the motivation to press forward.