Self-Care Awareness Will Help You Overcome Weight-Loss Discouragement

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Do you feel discouraged about your weight-loss journey? Self-Awareness will help you overcome your discouragement.

September marks another self-care awareness month. What does self-care awareness mean to you? I used to think self-care was all about manicures, retail therapy, and self-indulgence. Not any more. Find out the true meaning in this month’s series.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

“Those pants look nice,” Pedro said. “Are they new?”

“No, I’ve had them for a while.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear them before.”

“You haven’t. I bought them, but they seemed just a little tight on me, so I didn’t want to wear them. Then I gained a few pounds more, and they’ve sat in my closet.”

“Oh,” he said. “Why didn’t you just return them?”

“I ordered them online and I really hoped they’d eventually fit, and I love the dark green color. Who knew it would take three years for them to fit right!”

“Well, they don’t look too tight,” he assured me. “They look a little loose.”

I grinned. “Thank you!”

He didn’t realize it, but according to my scales, I only weighed five pounds less than when I purchased the pants. In fact, I weigh the same as I did two months ago when I tried them on and they still felt a little snug around the waist.

But while the scale numbers don’t budge, all those truisms about weight loss come to mind. Muscle weighs more than fat. Don’t let your scales determine your progress. Weight loss takes time. Don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged.

The difference between three years ago and now? Ten pounds. My weight actually went up ten pounds in the intervening years, and last December I decided to do something about it…again. I think I’ve finally discovered what works for me long term. Eating keto always works for me short term, but I can’t sustain eating that way.

Discouragement Dragging You Down?

My journey to a healthier, more sustainable approach started with the Noom app. Despite a year full of physical limitations (a bout with COVID, reactions to the vaccines, an ankle injury, surgery, and recovery), I lost the ten pounds I’d put on. I’ve set goals to stretch and do strength-bearing exercises, and I’ve met them.

I feel healthier, less stressed about food and the way I look, and stronger. Does beating an 8th-grade boy in arm wrestling count as a sign of increased strength? I think yes. I’ve lost 12.5 lbs since December, and I’ve kept the weight off since May while continuing to lose inches (a total of 10.5 inches).

But don’t mistake my victories for something that happened overnight. My journey with weight looks more like the stock market than anything else. I do know I weighed 190 lbs. twenty years ago, but I couldn’t tell you my exact measurements because ’embarrassing’ isn’t a number. Three years ago, I weighed 155 and carried an extra 24 inches around. My BMI hovered between healthy and overweight.

I understand discouragement and the desire to find a magic solution (which doesn’t exist). Sometimes, I don’t see myself as having changed all that much. But the numbers don’t lie. The looser clothing doesn’t lie, either. Along the way, I’ve learned to treat myself with kindness and compassion.

For most of my life, I’ve enjoyed good health when I exercise regularly and eat healthy foods. But good health doesn’t happen without our participation. We have to work at maintaining healthy habits and routines if we want to achieve physical wholeness.

Self-Awareness and the Journey to Better Health

After my husband’s run-in with a near-fatal case of cancer almost ruined my health, I’ve had to work even harder to keep myself healthy. Along with all that hard work comes a fair amount of discouragement. After all, some people can just think about exercise and lose a pound. Anyone can change the trajectory of their health journey. Anyone.

On today’s podcast, I’ll share seven hacks to help you when discouragement sabotages your journey. Having the self-care awareness to know you need to start on a journey will help you stay positive and take the steps necessary to keep on track. Self-care awareness will also help sustain you–no matter how long your journey takes.

Anyone can start a journey to better health. Let's forget about meeting society's ideals, and just love ourselves enough to take better care of ourselves. #healthier #goals #selfcareawarenessmonth Click To Tweet

Show Notes

Before you start any journey, you’ll want to figure out your why. This post will help.

Don’t forget to set realistic goals, both achievement goals and habit goals.

Why cortisol makes it difficult to lose weight.

If you’d like to join an online weight loss community, check out my friends at Faithful Finish Lines (affiliate).