Set Backs

Yay!!  I'm so excited I get to write my "Set Backs" post!  Today I weighed myself and I had gained a pound. (I'm not so concerned about my waist measurements because it is hard to remember where I measured the previous weeks.)

Every journey has bumps in the road.  What kind of adventure would it be if we didn't experience highs and lows?  Think of a roller coaster.  How fun would it be to wait in line all that time to only get in and stay flat the entire ride?  Not fun at all.  Kinda like the train ride at the zoo.....BORING!! We need to experience the highs and lows to appreciate the road that we are on. Not only the highs and lows, but the excitement, disappointment, and surprises.  Emotions are great things.  They truly give us the push or pull that we need and they let us know what we like and don't like. What could I possibly learn from this journey if I don't have bumps in my road, or hills that I need to climb?

This last week wasn't the greatest week, hence my 1 pound gain.  (I'm starting to think that the reason why I am not bothered by the fact that I gained a pound is due to my experiences with past diets.  I was "desensitized" from the disappointment.)  I'm actually NOT surprised that I gained weight this week.  Many factors contributed to this weeks gain.  I started the week by biking a 5K with my son in tow, which was GREAT! (This is not a contributing factor.) BUT, this week was that one "special" week in every woman's life. ;) Thursday I felt SO terrible that we ordered pizza, thin crust.  I've eaten pizza before and haven't gained weight so, why this week? I had desserts to make for a memorial I attended yesterday for my mentor from culinary school (I am a pastry chef.).  So, Saturday we got Chinese food because I was baking and busy all day Saturday.  I've eaten Chinese food before and haven't gained weight so, why this week? As I mentioned, I went to a memorial for my mentor from culinary school.  Take note, there were about 20 chefs there and about 10 of them contributed to the food.  There was a TON of food. A ton of GOOD food! I ate the stuff that was pretty good for me, veggies and whole grain bread, but I did have one salted caramel truffle about the base size of a nickel. (About put me in a sugar coma too.) So, why this week?

I've been thinking about it all morning.  I honestly believe that I started to take my weight loss for granted.  I started getting "cocky".  I also didn't pay attention to my body's "not hungry anymore" signals and I didn't exercise as much.  Well, I am humbled.  I can't take this journey for granted, thinking I can eat certain things and get away with it.  On occasion is OK, but not every day.  And not paying attention to my body's signals isn't OK.  I have felt bloated and crappy all week, but that isn't an excuse to fall back into the habit of eating things that aren't good for you. Not to mention that maybe, just maybe, another reason why I have felt bloated and crappy all week, besides the obvious, is because I didn't eat right.  I ate pizza  for two days and Chinese for 2 days.  The majority of my eating this week wasn't healthy and I saw the results of it this morning.

So, what am I going to do? I'm going to start paying attention to my body again.  Our bodies are remarkable vessels! They know EXACTLY WHAT we NEED AND how MUCH we NEED.  We just need to listen to it.  I NEED to listen to it. I need to remember that this new way of living isn't MY doing, it is doing what God WANTS me to do.  This wouldn't be happening without him and I need to give thanks for this tool he has given me.

Set backs aren't set backs.  They are an important part in any journey.  Something that we need to experience to get us back on track. They are opportunities for improvement.