I haven’t forgotten this blog, and I haven’t really been too busy to write an entry (though, I have been busy). I haven’t written in months because I have felt less than inspirational; actually, I’ve been downright discouraged.
My wedding is in less than 2 months, and I have gained 5 pounds. Some of you will say “5 pounds is nothing!” and others might feel that 5 pounds is significant. I feel both ways, really. On one hand, 5 pounds when you’ve lost 70 seems small. There was a time when I could lose 5 pounds in a week if I just followed Weight Watchers 100%.
On the other hand, 5 pounds takes forever for me to lose these days…even when I do follow Weight Watchers completely.
5 pounds.
That’s how this all began in the first place.
That’s how gaining weight always begins: 1 pound at a time. It creeps up on you; you can ignore it and lie to yourself for only so long before 5 pounds becomes 20…and those 20 start inviting friends.
Last night, I tossed and turned in bed, disappointed in myself for once again failing to stay on track and worrying about the one fear that, I believe, plagues pretty much everyone who has ever lost weight:
What if I gain it all back?
What will people think of me? What will I think of me?
What hope will there be fore me then?
I’ve been on Weight Watchers for 3 years, and I weigh as much today as I did in August 2012. I’ve basically maintained for an entire year now (that in and of itself is an accomplishment, but it’s not satisfying to me right now).
3 years of commitment is a lot for me.
I lasted 1 month on a no-sugar diet…
1 week on SlimFast…
24 hours on Atkins…
That I’ve managed to at least mostly follow Weight Watchers for 3 whole years is an astounding thing to me. And yet all I can think about right now is…
What if I gain it all back?
Oh sure, I’ve said it here before:
If you’ve ever lost weight and gained it all back PLUS some, you have not failed!
And gosh that’s a whole lot easier to say to YOU than it is to say to myself right now. Especially with an upcoming big event where I must wear a dress that fit me in October 2012.
What if I gain it all back?
Will I be an ugly bride?
Will I gain even more?
Will I ever be able to lose it again?
Will I have to start all over? CAN I start all over?
Will it mean that I failed? That this blog – all the things I’ve written here – that all of the thoughts that I’ve shared with friends and family about this journey – are meaningless?
Who wants to read or hear inspirational weight loss thoughts from someone who has gained it all back??
But, if there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the past 3 years it’s that fear of gaining it all back is the worst motivation.
I didn’t start down this path out of fear, and I know that fear is not going to get me through to the end. Fear inspires quick and temporary results that do more damage than good; losing weight out of fear is not an act of motivation…it is an avoidance tactic.
Fear keeps me from looking inside to find whatever it is that is holding me back. Fear keeps my motivation external when the only thing that could possibly get me through this journey is inside of me.
What if I gain it all back?
If I gain it all back, I will still not be exactly where I was before. There is no returning to before. Something far more permanent than my weight has changed in me: I have changed.
If I gain it all back, I will start all over again …this time with the knowledge that I am fully capable of losing the weight because I have been there.
If I gain it all back, I will be human and fallible and imperfect. And anyone who thinks that that makes my thoughts and feelings unimportant is not worth keeping in my life.
If I gain it all back, I will still be loved. I will still be beautiful. I will still marry the man of my dreams surrounded by my amazing family and friends.
But, I have not gained it all back, and I hope that I never will. So, 5 pounds… it all began and begins with you. I am not afraid of you; I will not be afraid of you. You can take nothing from me; you are a part of me. For now.
Can Anybody Hear Me? 