Day 339 Slow Before Crossing--The Reflection and Realization of A Wonderful Weigh Day

Day 339

Slow Before Crossing—The Reflection and Realization of A Wonderful Weigh Day

My weight loss success over the last eleven months has thoroughly spoiled me. Up until today I had never had a two week loss come in at under five pounds. I figured that breaking into the 290's was a given today. The celebration, the congratulations, the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment was going to be immense. I confidently walked into the specialty services building today at Ponca City Medical Center ready to receive my wonderful weigh in results. Like a lottery winner clutching their ticket at lottery headquarters just waiting for the life changing validation, it was mine. This milestone was mine for the taking today. And for whatever reason, it wasn't to be just yet. Perhaps I needed to be humbled. Maybe I was getting too confident along the way. But why this weigh-in? This wasn't a normal weigh-in, this was a milestone weigh-in! It was meant to be special. Instead it left me with mixed emotions. I was disappointed and really frustrated. But then I realized, how in the world can I be disappointed?

Today I registered another loss. Three more pounds gone forever. I now weigh 301 pounds. If I could truly be even remotely disappointed in losing 204 pounds in eleven short months, then I needed some serious reality checks and maybe some therapy. It was good for me actually. I needed this today. I needed to have the thoughts and reflection that it has given me. It's a clarity that maybe I wouldn't have understood had I easily cruised into the 290's today. Maybe I needed to slow before crossing, just long enough to reflect on the road behind me, confidently look ahead at the journey in front of me, and realize all of the wonderful blessings I've been given. Yeah, today's weigh day was exactly what I needed.

I waited a full two hours before sending out the mass text message, e-mail, and Twitter of the results. I wanted to discuss it with Irene and fully understand why and how I didn't get what I thought I deserved today. Turns out, I should have sent those messages immediately. The wonderful support I received from Irene and then the flood of support from my contacts list really lifted me up to meet a higher understanding of success. Melissa Walden, fitness and life coach, replied with a text: “It will happen. You're still losing. Re-adjust if you're not comfortable with the results. You know you're healthy when you have to adjust, re-adjust, again and again. That is what healthy means! A LIFETIME OF ADJUSTMENTS! Nothing stays the same!” My dad sent me an amazing text that focused on congratulating me for incredible success in such a short time. The messages of support and understanding kept coming until my in-box was full and I had to delete some to make room. It was a wonderful gift from everyone. I felt incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful network of support. Thank you sincerely.

I received a few wonderful blog awards today and I'm honored. Thank you to those that passed them along to me. I understand that I must now pass this award on to fifteen bloggers. Only fifteen? Don't ask me to do that! How am I going to leave someone out? I had planned to announce my blog awards tonight, but after filling in for an ill announcer at a four hour broadcast this evening, I'm running short on time. I need some time. I want to put some serious thought into handing out these awards. And if I'm going to have some kind of workout tonight, write this blog, and still get a good night's sleep before the 4:50am alarm---I must wait until tomorrow night to display the award on my blog and recognize fifteen others. I'm sure you understand. Besides, if I'm able to do it like I want, then it will be worth the wait---I promise!

I received a wonderful phone call today from a friend that has been struggling in the worst way. He just wanted to touch base and let me know that he was back in the saddle, ready to head down this road one last time. He's shared a lot with me about where he is mentally—and he's breaking through with epiphanies that will completely set him free. I was seriously overjoyed about this call today. I'm very sincere when I say that my success is a very small part of my overall enjoyment of this journey. It's phone calls like this and e-mails from people I don't even know telling me how my story has changed them, these are my proudest and most dear accomplishments. My family and friends success is very important to me. We're going to do this, we're doing it...one more time, and this time for good. We're carefully analyzing the process, we're figuring out the weaknesses of our failed attempts, we're adjusting our mind and our actions for optimum success. This time is our time.

OK---so what do I do now to grab the numbers I want at the next weigh-in and beyond? How will I adjust? My calorie budget is solid. I think I should start monitoring my sodium. I'm all about keeping things simple, but perhaps being a little more aware of my sodium consumption would be helpful. I must continue my fight against sleep deprivation through the week. I get great rest on the weekends, but through the week I'm still struggling to get enough. I've recently dropped in bed so horribly late, I'm embarrassed to admit it to you. (one night this week: 2:45am with a 4:50am alarm set--embarrassingly bad) Remember that blog where we discussed the effects of sleep deprivation on our metabolism? Maybe I should read that one again. And exercise---here we go again: I must step up my intensity. I must commit to a much more consistent weight training schedule. I mustn't allow my body to settle in and get use to what I'm doing. I must challenge myself to get the best results.

I really can't complain at all about anything along this journey so far. It's been just incredible. Very successful in every way. And it will keep being successful and delivering life changing results and consequences for me, my family, and all of my friends---every step of the way. Thank you for reading and get ready for my blog award announcements tomorrow night! Goodnight and...

Good Choices,
Sean