Maintenance is not easy :D.
None of this journey is "easy", but I find keeping the weight off almost more difficult than getting it off in the first place. I am proud that I have maintained my weight within a reasonable range for a year now. For me that IS success as I've never remained at a stable weight throughout my entire adult life. I have always either been gaining or losing - never stayed the same.
That said, I will admit to gaining several pounds, scaring myself at the ease with which I gain and slip back into old habits, then get serious and drop the excess again. I think I always felt once I was where I wanted to be, liked the way I looked, felt comfortable in clothes, felt comfortable in my own skin, the keeping it there would come easy. It doesn't. Not for me.
I think about this often and I believe one of the main reasons I still find this so difficult is that I've never really given up convenience foods and will opt for lazy over cooking something from scratch every time. NOT proud of this and I certainly have the time to do so. I don't enjoy cooking though and have no imagination when it comes to putting a meal together.
Where I feel I have succeeded is that I continue to exercise regularly. I've gone several days at a time without exercise for various reasons, but I feel good about myself in that I've always gone back into the habit. I aim for six days a week and usually follow through on it. I would not say I love to exercise, or even that I look forward to it very much. I DO feel so much better when it's done, both the immediate physical sensations and the mental/emotional ones.
Now... if only I would follow through with my goal to eat whole foods almost exclusively.
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