Little by Little...

Good Sunday morning, everyone!

The hardest day of the week for me.  And for many of us.

Which is weird, right?  I mean, it's also....for most of us....the 'best' day of the week because we have lots of leisure time, and we're with family and friends doing what we LIKE to do, what we CHOOSE to do, instead of what we 'HAVE' to do.

But sometimes, that's precisely what gets us into trouble!

Too many choices.  Too much temptation.  Too many bad habits staring us in the face....triggers, like sitting in your favorite chair watching your favorite TV show.  Or going out with the gang at night. Sometimes just 'that' can be a trigger, because you 'always' used to eat _________ (insert food here!) at that point in time.  Right?

It can be hard to change those old habits and triggers.  But you CAN do it.  The first time it's hardest....but you force yourself....and pat yourself on the back for it BIGtime when you succeed.  Hug your success to yourself, it's not important to anyone else but it sure is to YOU!....then the next time it's a little easier because you remember that you did it before and how good it felt. And the time after that, and the time after that....each time a little easier, a little more comfortable feeling for you to do.

Little by little.  That's how we change our habits.  Not all at once....not by a long shot!

We are all 'feast or famine' types sometimes, aren't we?  We expect perfection or else we're bingeing.  No middle ground. 

"Moderation" is foreign to us.  Always was to me....I would look cross-eyed at anyone who said to me, "just use moderation". 

Yeah, RIGHT.  Sure.  When I've got this piece of delicious 'whatever' in front of me? 

Couldn't do it.  My food addiction took over. And even if I could be 'good' in front of everyone else, the minute I was alone or people's backs were turned, I'd devour it. 

Fat Brain would take over.

Well, it's been a long hard road and I'm not perfect...never will be....but I've made an incredible amount of progress and I'm very very proud of myself. 

But it didn't happen all at once!  NO WAY!

It happened...little by little.  One decision at a time.  One 'NO' to Fat Brain at a time.

One day at a time.
One MEAL at a time.
One HOUR at a time! 

Yes, I did plenty of clock-watching.  Still do sometimes!  And I always remind myself, that EVERYONE gets hungry. It's NORMAL.  It's not the end of the world.  Skinny people get hungry, too!  They just don't consider it a huge 'crisis' like I do LOL.
They live with it.

So....I've learned to live with it, too.  My healthy body -- and my sanity! -- are WORTH it to me.

But again, it's always been 'little by little'.  That's how I succeeded, that's how the weight comes off, and that's the mindset you have to develop. 

Nothing changes overnight. It creeps up on you, one good decision at a time.

So if you stumble?  Remember all the RIGHT decisions you've made, take comfort in that, and learn your lesson, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.
As many times as necessary.  I'm all about second-chances.  And third-chances.  And fourth and fifth and as many chances as you NEED to 'get it right'.

Because once the good habit DOES get embedded, it's wonderful.  TRULY wonderful.

Eating healthy becomes a HABIT.  A habit you've developed one small fraction at a time.

Pretty soon you're looking down at the scale and you are DOING it.  The weight is coming off. And people are noticing...sometimes even before you do LOL....and the clothes are getting more and more baggy.  Time to get smaller sizes!  YAY!  (do NOT hang onto the fat clothes.  NO BACK DOOR). 

And the days pass, and you just keep on....and eventually you WILL make it to goal.

And then...all those little habits, that you've learned and 'set in stone' through sheer repetition, will serve you WELL in maintenance.  Because you'll find yourself 'automatically' wanting to eat 6 small meals a day.  Automatically asking for a salad.  Automatically looking for a good lean protein as opposed to something filled with fat and fried.  It will actually (believe it or not!) TASTE better to you.

Good, healthy foods....foods from the Earth, not manufactured processed JUNK....will just APPEAL to you more.

And that's amazing and wonderful.  And can KEEP you at a healthy, slim weight.

So don't expect it to happen 'all at once'.  Don't put too much pressure on yourself.

Don't look at others who are 'there' and think 'I'll never get there'.  Because you CAN.  And you WILL.  One step at a time!

All you have to do is get through TODAY.  One day at a time, one meal at a time.

That's all.  The rest will take care of itself.  Throw away your expectations of perfection and just try to stay OP.  That's all.  TODAY.  Not 'forever'.

Don't worry about tomorrow or berate yourself for the past. LIVE IN THE PRESENT.

And please, please, stop comparing your weight loss to others.  Every individual body is different and will lose at its OWN rate.  Sometimes slow, sometimes fast.....metabolism is an individual thing and one that can't be predicted. 

LITTLE BY LITTLE. One baby step at a time.

YOU CAN DO THIS! 

That's how I got to goal .... and how I live now.  I don't worry about what 'used' to be or fantasize about being a size 'whatever'....I just work the program.  That's all.

The rest will follow!

Keep on!