Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Being Gentle With Myself

You may or may not have noticed that I have posted my weight loss for a while.

That's because I haven't been losing any weight for a while!  This morning I'll be going to Weight Watchers, and I've been dreading the weigh-in.  Fortunately, they allow you to skip that from time to time, and I will probably skip today.

I was looking at my little record book they give us where they post our weekly weigh-ins, and noticed that since I got this particular book (back in April) I've lost 12 pounds!  That was encouraging to me since I haven't made any real progress for the past month and a half.

It's so easy, especially when you are trying to "improve" yourself, to get down on yourself when things don't go exactly right.  Or when you're not seeming to make progress.  I've certainly been down on myself lately about this plateau and my contribution to it.  But I decided to give myself a break, to treat myself as I would a friend who was going through a hard time...to be gentle with myself and to quit thinking negative thoughts and saying negative things inside my head.

Nobody said this was going to be easy.  The longer I keep going, the more I understand that the real battle is not with the scale, but with my own mind and how I approach life.  So how did I get out of my slump...how was I gentle with myself?  I decided that if I never lost another pound from this day forward, it would be a victory just to stay where I am because I am so much better off than I was a year ago.  I realized that I have lost 64 pounds and that's a great accomplishment!  I gave myself permission to let go of that NEED to see a loss every week on the scale, and to appreciate feeling better, looking better, and being able to buy smaller clothes!

The result?  I feel better!  More energized...more able to take on the challenges that life inevitably brings every day.  I also feel calmer.  Less panicky.  Gentleness is a good thing.  I hope you experience a little gentleness in your life today.

Hugs.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Cindy,

    Patsy Clairmont's story just came to mind about her son who came back from the bus because school was "too long, too hard and too boring." I can just hear you saying her reply! "You've just described life. Get back on the bus!". Good old Patsy. So every day we get up, collect our new mercies and get back on the bus.

    Here's a word for the day...

    Persevere.

    According to Webster, this means: "To persist in a state, enterprise or undertaking In spite of counterinfluences, opposition or discouragement."

    Sounds like a good word to me! Loved talking to you yesterday. I've missed you so much.

    Love,
    Your sister

    ReplyDelete

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