I'm glad to know that there are still a few people who read this blog. I haven't been very diligent in keeping up with it, so seeing that people are looking at it really motivates me to keep going.
Now that the semester is over, I have some reflections on the past few weeks. In short, they have been really difficult. Balancing a being a full time student and maintaining a healthy lifestyle was harder than I ever thought it would be. I was mostly successful, though, and that is something to celebrate. Even though I may not have those washboard abs yet (HA!), every day that I made it to all my classes, had meals that did NOT consist of my vices,(i.e. macaroni and cheese or my good friends Ben and Jerry) and got a few things done that were outside the realm of my basic "eat/sleep/school/repeat" routine, should be celebrated.
Learning balance takes a long time, and there are always periods of time when balance is even harder to achieve than normal. This is okay. No one is perfect, and each of us must make our changes on our own schedule. Since no one else can do the work, no one else, except for trained medical professionals, can dictate when you make changes to your life.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to give a lesson about what I have learned over the course of this weight loss journey, and for a while I really struggled with what to talk about. There is so much that I am still learning that sometimes I feel like I am trying to drink from a fire hose, but one thing has really stuck out to me, and that is the role that our emotions play in all of this. Change is messy. It doesn't always feel good when you're first starting out, and that makes it very difficult to want to keep going. There is a whole slew of hurdles to overcome: adequate nutrition and hydration, proper exercise, staying motivated, and learning to accept your body as something that is a wonder to behold. None of this is easily accomplished. On top of all that, many of us have to come to terms with the fact that our skeletal structure and genetic makeup make it literally impossible to achieve that picture perfect look that we see in the media. It will never happen. Ever. We can't force our bodies into shapes they aren't designed for. That is okay, too. And it's okay to mourn that loss because that process of accepting our emotions will set us free. Once we feel them, we will not feel that way forever.
So, stay your course! What are some of your spring goals? I am participating in a "no sweet treats for 30 days" challenge with my sister and my mom. It's May 3 and we're already counting down until the end of the month. Check back for updates!
Now that the semester is over, I have some reflections on the past few weeks. In short, they have been really difficult. Balancing a being a full time student and maintaining a healthy lifestyle was harder than I ever thought it would be. I was mostly successful, though, and that is something to celebrate. Even though I may not have those washboard abs yet (HA!), every day that I made it to all my classes, had meals that did NOT consist of my vices,(i.e. macaroni and cheese or my good friends Ben and Jerry) and got a few things done that were outside the realm of my basic "eat/sleep/school/repeat" routine, should be celebrated.
Learning balance takes a long time, and there are always periods of time when balance is even harder to achieve than normal. This is okay. No one is perfect, and each of us must make our changes on our own schedule. Since no one else can do the work, no one else, except for trained medical professionals, can dictate when you make changes to your life.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to give a lesson about what I have learned over the course of this weight loss journey, and for a while I really struggled with what to talk about. There is so much that I am still learning that sometimes I feel like I am trying to drink from a fire hose, but one thing has really stuck out to me, and that is the role that our emotions play in all of this. Change is messy. It doesn't always feel good when you're first starting out, and that makes it very difficult to want to keep going. There is a whole slew of hurdles to overcome: adequate nutrition and hydration, proper exercise, staying motivated, and learning to accept your body as something that is a wonder to behold. None of this is easily accomplished. On top of all that, many of us have to come to terms with the fact that our skeletal structure and genetic makeup make it literally impossible to achieve that picture perfect look that we see in the media. It will never happen. Ever. We can't force our bodies into shapes they aren't designed for. That is okay, too. And it's okay to mourn that loss because that process of accepting our emotions will set us free. Once we feel them, we will not feel that way forever.
So, stay your course! What are some of your spring goals? I am participating in a "no sweet treats for 30 days" challenge with my sister and my mom. It's May 3 and we're already counting down until the end of the month. Check back for updates!
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