Almost There!

So - the final weigh-in for the St. Luke's $10,000  Weight Loss Challenge is just a few days away.  Although I haven't quite reached my weight loss goal, I see some great changes I've made in my lifestyle.  Let me point out that I'm not giving up on the weight loss goal, but I also think it's important to see the little successes I've made.

Here are a few I've seen in me:  1)  I'm making better choices with food.  I'm not 100% "on target", but I'm 80% and that's a heck of a lot better than I was before I started the Challenge.  2)  In making those better choices, I realize how eating good food makes me feel more energized and less sluggish.  3)  I've cut WAY down on processed foods.  I cook a lot more with simple, but flavorful, ingredients.  4)  I'm more patient with myself.

I was already pretty active, so seeing bodily changes will take a lot longer with me than with others -- which is okay.  But that doesn't give me the green light to give up or stop. It means I just have to keep working at it.

I just finished reading this book about ultra-marathoners -- NO, it's not something I'm planning on doing, but it had some great life lessons in it.  The author was in a 50 mile race in Mexico with some of the top ultra marathoners in the world. He wasn't even close.  When the race started, he was given a great piece of advice that I am keeping with me. He was told to not worry about beating other people, but to beat the course.  Finish the run and THAT is what will make him a "winner."  He finished 6 hours behind the winner, but he finished and THAT'S a win.

My goal now is that I'm going to beat the course in my weight loss "race" -- I never set out to win this challenge, I set out to change my lifestyle, and in small, slow, steady steps, I'm doing it.  Now I just have to stick with it.