Final Fit & Fab wk 8/KSL column

I seriously can’t believe it’s the end of my brief summer journey to be more fit and fab! I’ve learned so much and am grateful for the progress made, even though it wasn’t as dramatic as I had originally hoped.
What I’ve learned over the last few weeks…
1. Adjust expectations as needed. By now I thought I would have lost another 5 to 10 pounds. With eating low calorie menus (this past week I did 1200 calories a day, most days 1500-1800), working out, and getting good rest, I was sure that would nail it. Nope. But that’s okay. I had to shelve frustration, retool my thinking and go back to what I had originally wanted–wear clothes in my closet, lose about a pound a week, health and energy, to live life while doing this, and to lose weight or inches.
I’ve been able to do these things, losing a total of 6 1/2 pounds and 28 inches, and staying healthy and energetic despite strange summer illnesses including my sweet baby’s ear infection issues.
2. Keep trying. When nothing seemed to budge, I finally realized it was hormonally based. So I tweaked a couple of my hormones and yahoo, budge be budged! Yes, the budge was only a total of two pounds, but that was miraculous! And I can also tell in other ways (absence of puff belly) that my body is responding well. Though I’m not going crazy (hormones are powerful things), I’m giving myself a little license to tweak within certain bounds as I listen to my body.
3. Enjoy a long-term perspective. Kathy Smith says fitness is not about white-knuckling through a certain time frame to finally “be done” with it. It’s finding what works (or doesn’t) for your body and soul, then progressively adding those changes into your life. I love that! Along the lines of long-term perspective, creating positive habits has been on my mind. I considered what were some specific positive habits I wanted to maintain and add to my life for the long haul. What was amazing is that as I looked at habits from that perspective, suddenly I opted for more enjoyable choices. Happy habits are ones that will last.
4. Have fun! Along those same lines, I realized I was taking things a bit seriously (needing to be sure that my workout was yielding that calorie burn, etc.) So I decided at this late juncture of summer to have a little fun. I talked with my kids about me doing a “Mom Day” (which, with kids’ schedules I couldn’t exactly do but split it into two mornings!) On the home front I took some time to shop for functional mom things without little “helpers”, and on the fitness front I tried out bikram yoga (wow, talk about sweat) and returned to my fave Zumba class for an hour. The change in routine and fulfilling those “mom” needs that had been pushed to the side all summer felt gloriously freeing! The kids were happy, I was happy, and my body felt happy. Score all the way around.
5. It’s all about progress. Seeing where I am now compared to the beginning of June, I can’t express how grateful I am that Heavenly Father helped me find the energy, desire, and know-how to get to this point. I’ve learned so much, yet again, and feel better inside and out. Though I still have questions that need answers, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made.
That is so life. We have these mental expectations of what we’ll do, become, or look like at certain stages of our lives. When the reality isn’t aligned, sometimes we’re disappointed or discouraged. But no need to be. Because there is usually a reason why the reality is different. And typically moms are caring for husbands, children, friends, etc., so that means we’re likely not going to reach our contrived expectation.
And that’s not a bad thing. Putting relationships first and working goals into our lives in a realistic way allows us to progress at a reasonable rate while enjoying the fruits of what matters most. And we typically receive more blessings and help from doing it that way instead of laser-beam focused on a goal and ignoring all else.
Thanks for your sweet support and great examples during the past eight weeks. From here, I’m excited to see what goal hits me–and you!–for fall, one of my most favorite times to create personal change. Looking forward to it!
Best,
Connie