Fit Momma Question: Starting. AGAIN.

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This email could have been written by many of us at some point in time.

A little background:
This Fit Momma successfully dropped 35 lbs. over a period of several months with genuine hard work and awesome eating habits.  However, due to some circumstances and some bad decisions, she has recently gained back most of that weight in a very short period of time.

Here's her question:

How do I mentally get back on track?????  I am VERY disappointed in myself b/c I worked soooo hard and now I have nothing to show for it. More importantly this is not the lifestyle I want to live. I do not want to be a so called "yo-yo dieter" my entire life.

So, you at the bottom and looking back up that mountain again. The same old mountain.

I believe this is a gentleman at the bottom of this mountain.  Why does he crack me up so much?

From Drop Box

Isn't it crazy how blasted hard we have to work to lose it, then how ridiculously easy it is to gain it back?   No justice in that, I tell you.

Let's take a step back, though. You said that you have nothing to show for all your hard work. I disagree. You have a lot to show for it:

Knowledge
You know exactly what you had to do and how to do it. You know how many calories to eat.  You know how to control your portions.  You know how to ease into your cardio routines, then push yourself.  You know how to lift weights effectively.

You don't have to relearn that info -- now it's just a matter of doing it again.

Confidence
You've done it before and you can do it again.

I began my journey on December 1, 1998.  That meant all the holiday traditions (traditions = tons of food) I once participated in where slightly altered.  Amazingly, for the first time ever, I lost weight. During the holiday season!  It was a Christmas miracle, I tell you.  I cannot emphasize enough how much that did to put some jumper cables on my confidence level (which had been at bottom of a nasty, sticky dumpster).

I love to encourage people to start on their journey to better living at this time of year.    That's right:  right before the holidays. It will put you at such a better starting place for the turn of the year.  You'll be half way up the mountain instead of at the bottom looking up again.

You'll be just like Wonder Woman with her awesome wrist cuffs fending off all the Halloween candy that is about to come pouring into your life.

Desire
You know what it feels like to be there and you want to be there again. You remember the clothes you wore, how fast you could run, how it felt to lift that weight, what it felt like to walk into a room, and how it felt to control to food instead of it controlling you.  Jump onto the back of that fierce dragon of desire and ride it towards healthy behavior changes (was that dramatic or what?). This alone - DESIRE - is a big motivation.

A few more thoughts:

Going to Extremes

You are going to be very tempted to break out the whip and go hard core, possibly depriving yourself much needed food while demanding a lot from your body. DON'T GO THERE. That is as equally punitive as overeating and gaining weight is.

Remember you have TIME. Slow and steady.  This is no race -- give yourself a solid 4-5 months to get this weight off, NOT FIVE WEEKS. I say this only to protect your body. It's the only one you've got, and you need to treat it with care and good health. Starving yourself and working out extensively does not qualify as good health.  You will break down at some point. If you do that, then you'll be back where you started.  At the bottom of that mountain.

Embarrassment
For a few months, you may have felt like one hot momma sporting the bod you worked your tail off for.  Now that is gone and well, you may feel a bit self-conscious about this. I've felt those feelings. But, if you don't go back to the gym, you'll stay where you are and you've made it clear that is not an option. Leave you ego at home, throw on some workout clothes, put your head down and get to work. There's no other way around it. Just remember this feeling, however. It is a good motivator to not put yourself back in this position in the future (barring pregnancy :).

OK, you know the real "you" is in that body -- Pull it out and treat it right. Eventually how you look on the outside will match what you know you are on the inside: a healthy, happy, confident woman and mother.

Plus, the view from the TOP of the mountain rocks:)

What about you, Fit Mommas? Have you ever been in this situation?  What did you do to get "it" back and start living healthily again?  Comment below and tell us WHAT WORKS!

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