August 27, 2014 (backdated for educational purposes)
“One of the hardest decisions you’ll ever face in life is choosing whether to walk away or try harder.” ― Ziad K. Abdelnour
Where did this all begin?
It honestly began in elementary school, when I had a MuffinTop before they were fashionable. Sadly, this continued through High School and College and I tried every silly “diet” out there because I no longer wanted to be the “fat cheerleader”. Too bad, so sad!
Finally, in my early 20’s, I grabbed hold of myself, found a reasonable way of eating and took the weight off successfully. At one point I even weighed 121 and size 4 was hanging on me. That was well and good until I hit 30 when baby #1 came along.
The day I gave birth, I weighed 192.5 and he weighed 8 lbs 10 oz. That means that I gained 60 lbs…and the yo-yo cycle began again.
Starting from 2000, every 5 years, I’d lose the weight for my High School Reunion…and during those 4 years in between reunions, I’d slip back into old eating habits, which were exacerbated by having two boys. A typical question I’d for them after lunch was, “You’re not going to finish that grilled cheese sandwich?” For some reason the trashcan didn’t seem like a viable option -it was wasteful- and before I knew it I was on a mission to save the Atlantic Landfills. Ahead of my time, once again, I became the human composter.
That all changed with another looming High School Reunion. In June of 2008, tired of winning yo yo champion every 5 years, my goal changed to:
Taking Off and Keeping My Excess Fat at Bay
That was my only goal and my forever goal.
In order achieve that goal in October 2008, I attended NPTI to become a personal trainer and nutrition consultant. In 2010, to “stay in the game of lean” and to test my strength mettle, I joined the Team Force powerlifting team. In 2012, powerlifting became a little stale for me and I found myself struggling to lift consistently and keep excess fat at bay. To reinvigorate my life, I changed my goal to compete at 132 lbs and to stay as strong as possible during that significant weight loss. It was a lofty goal to lose 19 lbs in 10 weeks, but I committed to that goal and not only weighed in at 131.34, I also nailed all 4 world records at the 100% Raw Powerlifting Worlds in Las Vegas.
Now it’s 2014, and I’m struggling to find goals in line with my inner and outer dreams.
I see a pattern, and being the awesome sleuth that you are, you probably do too. That’s right, it’s TWO YEARS later and it’s time for some invigoration through re-invention .
I have two choices-
Walk Away and Try Something New
OR
Try Harder at What Once Worked.
It’s possible that I need to face my inner drama queen and conquer my fears of leaving my favorite sport and change my long term goals (6 months to a year) to fat loss.
Whatever I decide, I will FULLY COMMIT to my plan.