I have lost count of the times I made losing weight one of my New Year’s Resolutions. It’s probably been a good 10 times. And, eight of those times, I failed. Miserably. But, the other two times, I lost weight and felt great. What was different those two times from all the others? Well, for starters, I was serious about it and was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Have you ever gotten to a point when you just know you have had enough? That was how determined I felt about losing weight. The other times I only wished I could lose the weight and didn’t want to work at it.
If you have started an exercise program, you know that even though it’s hard to get through the first workout, you feel good about yourself for just showing up and trying. The sore muscles the next day are like a badge of honor and it reminds us that yes! I’m really doing this. By the end of the first week, as we sweat it out on the treadmill, we get some comfort from the sight of the women to the left or the right of us, who seemed to be struggling to make it to through the first twenty minutes too. Mentally, we give ourselves a break, after all, it’s been umpteen years since we have pushed our bodies this way. By the third or fourth week, the woman on the left is gone. In her place, is a very skinny workout queen who races at maximum speed, and at a 15 percent incline! We continue to push along, and feel like this new routine could work.
By the end of the first month, we feel proud of our commitment. We step on the scale, and are disappointed to see that the scale has barely budged. This is when my resolve would start to quiver. Seeing that the reward of all those evenings or early mornings when I guilt-talked myself into going to the gym was minimal compared to the huge amount of effort it took to work out and negate myself the foods I really wanted to eat, well, it hardly seemed worth it. As the months went by, the gym would become empty of regularly-shaped people and only the super-bumpy or skinny were left. Stepping on the scale at the end of the third, fourth, and fifth months and seeing that the needle had not budged was the worst feeling. I would just get angry at my DNA for making my cells so ornery and stubborn at not wanting to give up the fat. Such disappointment is hard to deal with. I would exercise less, and if I did work out, it was more out of a sense of obligation than a true desire to (or belief that I could) meet my goal. I would put less effort into the workouts and barely raised my heart rate above resting.
This was the precise moment that determined whether I would succeed or fail at losing weight. If I allowed disappointment to knock me down, I failed. But, if I ignored the scale and continued to workout and pushed myself with intensity, I was successful.
We give up on our resolution to lose weight because we have unrealistic expectations of the time it takes for our bodies to respond to exercise, especially if we have been sedentary for a while. My body does not let go of the fat very easily and it takes between eight to nine months of consistent activity for my body to release the weight. We also expect our results to equal the amount of effort we put in. I expected that the 40 minutes of sweat, tears and exhaustion on the treadmill to yield 5 pounds of weight loss, on the spot. Not, so. And, after six months of sweat, tears and exhaustion, you demand expect to look like the model on the cover of Shape magazine!
image credit: http://www.fit50.worpress.com
It’s January so hopefully you are still feeling good about your workouts. But, come April, May and June, your resolve to lose the weight will surely be tested. So, I would like to share what has helped me stick to a weight loss/workout plan:
- Write down your weekly accomplishments. This helps you keep motivated and gives you a sense of accomplishment. Include good eating habits and new behaviors you have adopted that contribute to a healthier slimmer you (i.e., portion control, biking instead of driving, eating more veggies).
- Don’t weigh yourself every week. In fact, I propose that you do not weigh yourself at all, at least not until after six months. Remember that you have a year to achieve your goal.
- Measure yourself. Sometimes the inches decrease before the weight comes off. Muscle weighs more than fat so, while your cells are holding on to the fat for a little while longer, your muscle fibers are getting toned. Measure your bust, waist and hips with a measuring tape and check again in a couple of months.
- Set realistic short term goals for your workouts, but not for your weight loss. Instead of setting goals to decrease ten pounds in one month, set goals around increasing time walking or running, increasing repetitions or sets, increasing the weight that you lift, or the number of push ups you do.
- Lastly, and I have to say it because I used to this, reward yourself for success with a massage, a mani-pedi, or a new outfit, but not with food. Because I had worked out hard and lost a few pounds, I felt I could afford to eat that gigantic chocolate chip cookie at the mall. Not worth it.
You CAN achieve your goal to be slimmer by the end of 2012. Be committed to yourself, and don’t let the scale throw you off your path. You can do it!
Much Love
Yaya Speaks 