Moving Beyond Goals

"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before."

-- Kurt Vonnegut

It's been a bad week, people.

My motivation has disappeared. My normally well-planned schedule is all over the place. I've only managed to take one dance class and get in one good walk. I've done no strength training at all. And my healthy eating goals...well, let's just say they haven't been met. Why, you ask?

Here's the truth: I don't know.

Maybe I'm just feeling the lazy summer blues. Maybe it's the fact that after pushing hard to finish the book before school got out, my mind and body need some well-deserved down time. Or maybe I just really wanted to go out for ice cream this week -- um, twice.

I've talked a lot about how great it's felt to be done with the pressure of trying to meet a goal weight under the glare of a national spotlight. And I've been thinking lately about how that very public pressure motivated me to stick with a grueling exercise program and clean eating plan for a full year. In two months, I'll mark the one-year anniversary of finishing the Weight-Loss Diary column with Shape. Since I don't own a scale, I can't tell you what my actual weight is and truthfully, it doesn't matter to me. I'm still wearing the clothes I wore at the end of the column -- and buying new clothes in that four-sizes-smaller size -- so that's really all I need to know that I'm maintaining. However...

When I have weeks like this one, I do start to panic a bit about getting back on track -- and then I worry that my panic means I'm not yet confident that I've fully committed to the healthy changes I've made in my life. Does that mean that -- like the Kurt Vonnegut quote says -- I'm no wiser than I was before my Shape experience?

I wouldn't go that far. When my healthy plans go astray now, I can pinpoint exactly what I need to do to get back on course. I have the knowledge I need, but no longer have the pressure to do it. It's my old nemesis rearing its ugly head: Accountability to myself.

I know what it took to get that weight off and I don't want to go through it again. I've been reading a lot of blogs lately where people are talking about their weight-loss goals and how the idea of meeting those goals motivates them to move forward. Personally, I'm struggling to find a meaningful goal that'll keep me committed to healthy eating and exercise during weeks like this one. "I want to maintain my weight" doesn't exactly have that same exciting, measurable edge, does it?

I'm hoping that adding more activities like my new dance class -- physical activity that I love just because I love it -- will help. And as nerdy as it sounds, now that my new kitchen is almost done, I'm also planning to spend some time developing healthy recipes that my family will actually eat. Above all, though, I'm going to work hard at reminding myself of how much better I feel and how much healthier I am when I'm eating right and staying active...and that, in the end, a fit body is the result of an ongoing journey, not a destination.

Comments

[MizFit]

there is really nothing more to add to this fantastic post (except Im there with ya? not that you need my normalizing but with so many visitors and the Toddler Tornado getting sick METIME is last on my todo list) except what I keep telling myself when I choose other things over my workout:

life is a marathon not a sprint.
there's plenty of time left.

xo xo,

Miz.

[Sagan]

The end of the week is here so I hope that next week is a good and happy one for you! Enjoy the dancing.

[Alyssa]

Exactly, life is a destination, and there will be detours along the way. None of us are "perfect" (how boring would THAT be?), and I personally think it's OK to give yourself a break every now and then, whether it be from working out, cooking, or whatever. That way you avoid burnout. It's the reason we have 2 weeks of vacation time a year (in theory, anyway, and it really should be more, but that's lust my opinion).

[Alyssa]

Um, I meant JUST my opinion, not LUST my opinion.

Freudian slip?

[Dara Chadwick]

Thanks for the moral support, everyone. I'm feeling much more optimistic after a nice restful weekend.

Alyssa, lust my opinion made me laugh out loud. So thanks for that...

[Therapeutic Ramblings]

Scales are for fishes. I think people would be happier if they focused on how they felt and not what number they hit. Your body can tell you when you need to work out a bit more and eat a few less "extra" desserts.