Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Aesop’s The Tortoise and the Hare is a fable that concerns a hare who ridicules a slow-moving tortoise and is challenged by him to a race. The hare soon leaves the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, decides to take a nap midway through the course. When he awakes, however, he finds that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily, has arrived before him.

Your weight loss journey is not a race, but we all have a destination.  We all want to reach our ultimate goal, whether it be a finish line, a certain weight or perfect jean size.  Unfortunately, characters like the Hare beat the slower guys down with their quick fixes.  It looks enticing, it sounds easy, but how many times have you seen people lose weight quickly, only to gain it back and then some?  They take magic pills, have surgeries and drink shakes, but never really get to the core of the problem.

The key, in my opinion, is to focus on the journey, rather than the destination. The destination then becomes the journey.  The best way to lose weight and maintain it is to identify the root, underlying issues. Don’t focus on the specific goal all the time.  Instead of vowing to lose 20 lbs. in 30 days, vow to eat no grains or legumes, no sugar, no vegetable oils and nothing in a box. Instead of resolving to obtain 16-inch biceps, resolve to add pull-ups to the end of every weight lifting session. When you set arbitrary numerical or objective goals, you’re merely attacking the symptoms, rather than addressing the real issue. If you need to lose weight, you need to dial in your nutrition. (source)

I’ve been searching for these guiding words ever since I weighed in last night.  It’s been two great weeks on plan but I missed weighing in last week due to snow.  I was excited but nervous.  I hadn’t had a good week yet on the new, all-you-can eat fruit plan and I just wasn’t completely convinced it worked.

It did!

I lost 2.6 lbs., which puts me at 49.8.  What a relief!  I was so down about not only gaining nearly 10 pounds back, but for dipping back under the 50 lb. mark.  I’m not quite there but I’m motivated to make this next week a good one!  And while 2.6 lbs. is good, for two really good weeks of staying within my daily points target and not dipping into my 49 extra, I was hoping for a larger loss.  I’ve since convinced myself it’s ok.  I’m doing something right.

Slower Weight Losses Last Longer

When a dieter loses weight too rapidly, chances are he (or she) won’t keep it off as long as if the weight came off at a slower rate. Why? That’s probably because metabolism slows down the faster the weight melts off. At first, the weight comes off fast, but then after the body adjusts to fewer calories, weight loss tends to slow down because metabolism also winds down. However, this is actually beneficial because weight won’t return as quickly when not dieting.

Losing Weight Slowly Teaches Dieters Good Eating Habits

Rather than considering your weight loss program a diet, think of it as a change of lifetime eating habits. Too many dieters determine to lose weight by a certain date, such as an upcoming wedding, school reunion, etc. Rather than adopting this mindset, just decide to change eating habits for a lifetime, instead of a small hunk of time. This takes the pressure off trying to reach a particular goal by a certain date. In other words, don’t aim for a quick fix, but focus on developing healthier eating patterns.

• Make better food choices – For example, eat more protein than carbohydrates. Fill up on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, as well as getting other daily food groups, rather than consuming empty calories containing no nutritional value.

• Eat three balanced meals daily - Never miss a meal, even if you don’t feel like eating. By skipping meals, dieters can actually sabotage weight loss rather than help it.

(Source)

Since it’s going to take time to drop the last 30 lbs., might as well enjoy it. Right? Here are some of my latest favorite food finds.

•  Trader Joe’s Pasta Medley.  I added bits of grilled chicken to make this a meal.  The entire bag is only 12 points!

•  Rocket Fizz is a soda and candy shop in Lincoln (two locations at 70th and A and 14th and Pine Lake).  They have vintage candies and thousands of bottles of pop, including an entire selection of diet sodas.  It’s kind of hit or miss.  Some of them are fantastic, some of them not so much.  It’s a fun place to visit and yes, we weight watchers have options.

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