The Hard Work

You know the expression, "good things come to those who wait?" There are few things in my life that have just happened as I sat back on my heels and waited for them. With the exception of (finally) going into labour after a long wait, most things require effort on my part.

This losing weight thing is one of those effort-full experiences.

I'm not a stranger to weight loss. In fact, I've done it four times over with relative success. As much as success can be measured by maintaining the loss until the next pregnancy, that is. But something about this time is different - more difficult - than the other times.

I have been pondering my struggle, and come up with a couple reasons why this time is tougher:
- I am over 30 and my metabolism has changed (it hates me now),
- I had a boy, and boys make that weight stick in a way that girls don't (it took me a good 2 1/2 years to lose after the first boy),
- I am subconsciously clinging to this baby weight because it is my very last baby weight - ever,
- I just can't get down to where I was before and I need to accept it,
along with a myriad of other great ideas justifications.

If I get real with myself, though, about the reason I am simply not losing this weight, I have no choice but to accept full responsibility for it. I am not losing weight because I am not doing the work. I am not fully committed. I follow Weight Watchers for a few weeks, experience some success, and decide to take a little "break" from all the points-counting. I talk myself out of exercising regularly (I'm too busy, it's too expensive, I really don't need to).

Losing weight, not yelling at the children, being a good wife, saving money, spiritual growth - all these things require work. None of them just happens based on my good intentions.

And now I sit here with no good ending for this post. Because this is as far as I've come. I need to do the work. The question that lingers in the back of my mind is this - how do I keep motivated to keep up the work as time goes on? What's to prevent me from losing and re-gaining the same dumb 10 pounds I've lost and gained four times already in the past year?!