No Rush

I am learning the difference between setting a goal and setting a deadline.

I have a goal to get healthy, to establish healthy habits, and hopefully lose 100lbs along the way :) You will notice that when I started this challenge I never gave myself a deadline. After all, this is a lifestyle change. NOT a diet. But, sometime in August I got really excited about the idea of losing the first 50lbs  before the end of the year. WHY? Well, because I'm living at my in-laws until the end of December when my family will fly back to Halifax. And in my in-law's crawl space, I have all my "skinny clothes" packed away. They are all the clothes that I wore in my latter years of University, when I was dating Tanner, and when I was working at the Gap. So they're nice clothes that have sentimental value to me. And yeah, it would be nice to pull them out from that crawl space before we move so I can bring them wear them when we fly back. I talked with TJ and Mal about this goal and whether or not it was attainable, and they gave me the go-ahead.

So now I no longer just had a goal, I had a deadline.

Initially, having the goal to lose 50lbs before the end of the year was very motivating. I would find myself getting excited about the "new" wardrobe I was going to have and thinking about how awesome I would feel. I kept my focus for a solid two weeks. But then . . . I'd slip up. Not just for a day, but sometimes for several consecutive days. I would start stressing out, thinking that I'd fall short of my 50lb goal. I started focusing more on the weight lost and less on loving myself at all stages. When I would have cheat days, or stopped seeing changes in my weight, I would think "I'm a failure! I'm never going to lose the weight by Christmas, now!"

Where there was once excitement, there was now a feeling of hopelessness.

I only realized a week or so ago what was going on.

I had given myself a time limit.

I am learning that time limits DON'T WORK for me! Especially when it is dealing with weight-loss, because this is not a race and I should never feel like I'm failing! The positive healthy choices I am making far outweigh the bad ones. So yes, I am making steps in the right direction, albeit baby ones.

I'll still bring those clothes on the plane with me when we go back, because I'm sure that sometime in the near future I will fit them again.

No rush.

*BIG SIGH*

I feel a whole lot better, now :)