When you feel like quitting ...

Frustration and depression seem to be running rampant and I just want to take a moment and send HUGS out to everyone who is feeling low.

Please know that we have ALL been where you are. We have ALL felt the frustration of the scale not moving.

We have all been disappointed in ourselves for giving in to seemingly senseless cheats.

And we have ALL wondered at some point if this is really the WOL (way of life) for us.

But I want to remind you (and myself) of some things:

1) WHY are you on this woe (way of eating)?

If you are like me, then this was a LAST RESORT because NOTHING else has worked for you. Maybe you were tired of eating bland, tasteless, "diet" food, always feeling deprived, only to lose maybe a pound or two.

Maybe your health was in jeopardy.

My doctor was threatening to put me on diabetes medication. NOW, I'm no longer diabetic.

GO BACK TO YOUR "WOE-ROOTS": remember what led you to this point and why you chose this woe for yourself.

2) HOW do you FEEL?

I told someone this morning, that EVEN IF I never lost another pound, I would continue to eat this way for the rest of my life.

Why?

Because *I have more energy, *I'm less irritable, *My digestive problems have ceased, *My acne is gone, *My PCOS is gone, *I don't feel deprived (especially when I'm eating a juicy steak with melted butter), *My face is not puffy, *I am more patient with those I love (especially my children), *I'm no longer diabetic, *I JUST FEEL BETTER.

3) LOOK past yourself.

I know this may sound trite and simplistic, but LOOK around you.

There are others on this board who are having a harder time than you. Or maybe they have overcome more obstacles.

I know that when I start feeling sorry for myself because the scale hasn't moved in a while, I go and read others' posts -- posts of people with twice as much weight to lose than I have. Others who are facing extended stalls that make mine look like a mere "pause."

We are all tempted to throw in the towel, but those who make it to their goals NEVER DO.

4) Throw away the scale? THROW AWAY YOUR CALENDAR!

If this is your WOL (way of life) now, then what is the rush? This is not a race. Your body is naturally going to resist giving up what you so willingly gave it. It took me 9 years to pile on 134 excessive pounds. WHY do I think it will (or SHOULD) be gone by Christmas?

I have abused my body (albeit, unknowingly at times) with too many carbs, too many diets, and not enough healthy eating.

NOW is the time to make amends.

I will take this time (because it WILL take time) to pamper my body, and soothe its wounded spirit, and feed it healthy foods, and exercise it to a healthy glow. And eventually, those walls my metabolism has so expertly constructed will start to crumble and I will be rewarded.

Now, think on these things, and commit to them. Because you know, deep down, that QUITTING is NEVER the answer.

Will y'all remind me of that the next time I start whining?

Summer