At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.
"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed.
So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.
"This porridge is too cold," she said
So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.
"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up.
If you're a human, you're probably familiar with this classic tale. The whole idea of one being too something, another being too something, and the third one being just right.
As I created this little photo display, I couldn't help thinking of Goldilocks and the idea of just right.
Granted, what is just right for me?
That svelt 141 pound shot might seem like the obvious choice. Of course that would be just right! Who doesn't want to be the fittest version of themselves?
After 2 years and 8 months of Moving More and Eating Well, I find myself quite literally splitting the difference between chubby and thin.
And here's a secret: that hasn't exactly been my goal. Still, I can't help but have some observations.
1. Even with a 40-pound swing, my butt will never be flat. It sticks out. It always has. Granted, many a man (okay, specifically Dan Zielske) likes a baby with a little back. I can deal with this one.
2. I can almost feel how hungry I was in October 2010 just by looking at that photo.
3. I was sucking in my stomach in January 2010 and you would not have known that had I not just told you.
4. I have a much better sports bra than when I started.
5. I have made changes in my life that far exceed simply meeting the requirements of fitting into a pair of size 8 jeans.
6. Even after nearly three years, I haven't thrown the towel in on trying to make the best choices for me, my life and my body.
Even though the weight gain might point to the contrary.
As many of you know, I lead a monthly workshop at Big Picture Classes called Move More, Eat Well. I was toying with the idea of not doing it again for 2013, mostly for fear of being the big old loser who apparently stopped losing weight. Who wants to take a class with someone like that?
But I realized that was just my fear talking; the fear that gives me the permission to throw in the towel; the fear that looks an awful like like a child who isn't willing to step up and do what is needed; the fear that tells me 'give it UP, already. You know you can't do this."
But I'm losing patience for that voice these days.
I'm losing patience for the so-called inner critic. I'm trying to make more room for reality to move into my life.
Yes. I'm chubbier than I want to be. Yes, I know how to make the changes that are both needed and desired. No, I'm not ever going to be a tiny little thing.
But I sure as hell am not done trying to live a healthier life, one that isn't a slave to my whims and cravings.
I'm still plugging away.
How are you doing on your journey to better health and fitness? All stories welcome and encouraged.
