Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or fitness guru. I am sharing what I’ve learned through research and experience; you all must use your own judgment in deciding what is best for you and your own health, including checking with your doctor before beginning any exercise or dietary program.

I originally wrote this post for another blog I have authoring rights to.  I’m reposting here today, because I think many of you NEED to hear this!!

Self Bashing = using negative terms to refer to yourself, your behavior, or your actions

I think this little ditty is needed more this week than an essay extolling the virtues of exercise or an update on my own maintenance.  (Nothing has changed, by the way.  It’s maintenance!)  Note – there are some religious references here, because this is from my heart, and my faith is so ingrained into my being that I can’t deny it.

I checked in on several weight loss and fitness blogs this week.  I’ve lost count of the number of times I read ‘fail’, ‘I’m Bad’, or some other version of self bashing. Let’s get this straightened out.

STOP IT.
RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!

First, the greatest cheerleader in your life is you. Not your Mom, not your BFF, not your husband or boyfriend, not me. It’s all you, Sweetie. You live with yourself twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. You know yourself better than anyone else on the face of this planet. You cannot go through your days slapping destructive, negative labels on your forehead every time you miss a workout session or eat something fattening.

They’ll get tangled in your hair and leave sticky goo on your face.

Would you berate a little kid for eating a poptart, shaking your finger in his face and calling him a failure? Would you tell your Mom “You’re a bad person” if for some reason or another she didn’t run a mile yesterday? Would you scream at your Boss for eating a donut? No, of course not.

Then why the heck do you treat yourself that way?

You are a sentient creature, perfect in your creation, and you have a free will. This means that you are good, beautiful and complete simply because you exist. Because you breathe, walk, talk and think, you are the most amazing being in God’s creation. You are not a failure because you ate x-number of calories yesterday. You are not bad because you put something sweet in your mouth. You used your free will to make a poor choice, but you are not bad. You are NOT a failure.

What would you say to a child who has made a mistake? You’d forgive them, help them clean up the mess and then get on with the day. That is exactly how you should treat yourself. Pick yourself up, clean up the mess and move on. If you need help getting up, then ask someone. If you need help with the mess, ask someone. Poor choices are part of the weight loss game. They’re going to happen. Learn from them.

“Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” 

I know I’ve said this many times here on the blog – the physical part of losing weight is actually quite simple and very easy to do – eat less, move more, repeat. The mental part is a bazillion times more complicated. It starts with loving yourself, deciding to care for the body God made, making it healthy and strong. It continues with loving yourself, developing good eating habits and exercising. It ends with loving yourself and reaching out to others to share that love.

Love God above all else – love your neighbor as yourself. As Yourself. YOURSELF.

Love Yourself. Keep the Faith.

Remember this picture from my birthday ride last fall?

There was a [brave] guy braced between the two halves about 30 feet off the ground, supporting his weight with his feet, bolting the sides of the form in place while it dangles from the crane over his head.  I went riding today, and this is what it looks like now.

Pretty amazing, isn’t it?

Goals? First, let’s talk about the overall goal:  the end number.  I have become increasingly frustrated with my ongoing efforts to lose the last few pounds.  I’ve maintained this weight plus or minus a few pounds for almost a year now.  I’m not willing to starve, let up on my exercise or give up weightlifting just to get down to the number that Weight Watchers says I am supposed to be without consideration of my age, fitness level and mental stability. I’m at my ‘goal’ dress pant size, and have been for a while.   Heck.  I even brought a note from my Doctor to WW stating that my body fat is in a good range, my bones are very dense (no osteoporosis for me!), that my muscle mass is in the high range and that my weight is Just Right Thank You Very Much.  The lady at weigh in basically said “That’s nice Sweetie.  You still have 10 pounds to go.”  So. I said goodbye to WW, and declared myself to be at goal.  I’m good with maintenance.

BTW, just in case you’re wondering, the American College of Sports Medicine suggests that the optimal body fat percentage is between 21.6 percent and 25.6 percent for a 50-year-old woman. In reality, the average body fat percentage for a 50-year-old American women is between 30.1 and 33.4. A body fat percentage above 32 percent is considered to be obese. My body fat is 23.7.

My goals are going to remain the same from now on.  I’ll just provide a weekly update!

1. Weight loss – Persist and Maintain:  This is going well, as stated above.  I’m the size I want to be and haven’t gained or lost an ounce. I am going to focus a bit more on tracking actual calories instead of WW points.
2. NSV – Eight Hours of Sleep minimum every night:  Ooooh.  This one was easy the past few weeks while Mr. Pea and I were under the weather.  I was basically crashing in a prone position the moment the last plate from dinner was washed and not waking up until the next morning.  Now that I’m feeling better, it’s easier to convince myself to stay up and do one more thing.  I need to rein in my enthusiasm.   
3. Exercise – Four days of cardio and two days of weight training. Done. Lots of miles last week, weight training/CrossFit squeezed in as well as stretching and such.
4. Nutrition – Eat more Veggies, Dump the Carbs:  Done.  Summer is easy, as there are plenty of veggie available.  I tried Massaged Kale salad, and it was YUM!!!

Say Goodbye to things you need to say goodbye to.  Keep the Faith.