Unrealistic Expectations

I have this unrealistic expectation. I start making changes and I somehow expect that there is going to be a noticeable difference the next day. I weighed myself the day before I started to eat more healthy again. The day after I started eating better I weighed again and the scale gave me a VERY generous 6 pound boost in the WRONG direction. Stupid scale. Duh me.

How awesome would it be if you could just wake up the next morning and be done. No more fat. No more struggling to walk up the stairs. (Just a side note, after we found out I was pregnant 3 years ago we decided to move to a bigger house. We have about 3x's as many stairs as our old place and we are about 1,000 feet higher in elevation. It takes a lot out of me to get up the stairs.) No more sore knees. You look in the mirror and you feel GREAT!! On the other hand, isn't that what a journey is all about? The road getting to the end? Think about it. Even though it would be AWESOME to be done just overnight, we forget that, if that were the case, we would be robbing ourselves of the blessings and the lessons we would learn on our path to the end. These last 3 years and the months and years even before that have been such a learning experience for me. Now I'm excited to start learning even more! I've learned so much about myself and the people I love. I haven't realized the example they have been to me throughout my life. I watch as my now 2 year old eats, but stops when he isn't hungry anymore (unlike his siblings). Why am I not doing that?

Remember back a lifetime ago I posted the "rules" to the WOW way of eating? The SECOND rule is to not overeat. You stop eating when you are not longer hungry. I admitted it back then and I admit it NOW.  It is THE hardest rule for me. Curse the old ways of "You better finish everything on the plate or I'll give you what for" kind of days. I am trying very hard NOT to pass that one down. It needs to be abolished. Every time I eat I need to repeat over and over in my head that I need to stop eating when I am no longer hungry. Pregnancy and nursing kinda' kicked that one to the curb so now I need to "re-train" myself to not to overeat. I can start by looking to my 2 year old as an example.

I need to NOT have unrealistic expectations. This weight didn't get there over night. It's not going away overnight either.