Struggles & Setbacks

Well hopefully by this point in the Powerful Life program you are feeling some sort of momentum: maybe you are eating less, working out more, maybe you are happy because you’ve lost weight or you just “feel” better in your clothes, maybe you have had a total change in your eating habits, or maybe it’s the first time in your life that you’ve ever consistently exercised!  Whatever it is, I hope you are seeing some change in the right direction!

I have found in my own personal lives that I’ll be heading down the right track, feeling good about my right choices, weight loss, exercise intensity, etc., and something will happen.  Here are some of the examples of setbacks that have occurred in my own life over the years:

·         In 2009, had lost over 50 lbs.  In 2010 I stopped nursing and gained back 5lbs (no big deal, right?).  Soon after my thyroid got a bit screwy and my DR couldn't get my bloodwork right and I gained 10 lbs in a very short period of time.  THEN, we moved and I packed on another 5 from the move.  I gained 20 lbs in a short amount of time.  Setback?  For sure!

·        A few years ago, I was in a great groove with Jazzercise, coming 5 to 6 times a week, loving every bit of it, and then suddenly I injured my knee had had to COMPLETELY stop Jazzercise for 6 weeks until the inflammation went down.  It was so discouraging to me.  Major setback.

·       Right before I got pregnant with Knox I had started running on my off-Jazzercise days and injured my foot to the point that I could barely walk.  Irritating, yes.  Setback?  For sure!  I had to take some time off of teaching till it got better!

Now I can go on and on with little setbacks, and you can probably think of some of your own struggles that have set you back.  The birth of a child and the weight gain that came with it.  A job loss that sent your regular exercise routine spinning.  A health change that made losing weight hard, etc.  A sudden injury.  All these things are setbacks and they WILL happen to all of us.  The difference is how we deal with the setbacks.

For me, the fast 20lb gain that I experienced in 2011 is (almost!) back off with a lot of hard work.  The knee injury that sidelined me from Jazzercise drove me to a 1 month pool membership where I did laps to keep my endurance up without further injuring my knee.  It allowed me to re-enter Jazzercise easily when my knee felt better.  The running injury healed itself with time & patience.    

The difference between someone that has lost weight or reached their health goals isn’t that one didn’t experience setbacks and the other had setbacks.  The difference is the way one responds to the setbacks.  You can choose to power through hard times or you can choose to give up.  We have talked a lot about our attitude throughout the last month.  What will your attitude be when injury or struggle occur?  Will you give up or will you allow the struggle to create more character?  We are often the people we are today because of the hard times that we have made it though. 

I am not a person that is naturally going to be thin without trying hard.  Sometimes I feel like looking at food makes me put on a pound J.  It runs in my family.  I have an aunt that had gastric bypass last year and has lost 250 lbs.  I could easily be her if I wasn't careful.  But I look at what my weight struggle has taught me and I’m so much the better for it!  My health is great, my endurance and ability to exercise is better than it’s ever been, and my knowledge about good and bad food choices are ONLY because I HAVE to know these things in order to keep my weight under control.   My weight struggles is one of the best things that has ever happened to me, in a way! 

So keep in mind that every setback, struggle and injury can either throw us off the path for our goals or make us stronger.  Also keep in mind that we should expect setbacks, injury or otherwise.   None of us are exempt from having them.

I’ll end with a quote by Bob Green (Oprah’s workout guru):

“Temporary setbacks will occur.  It’s your choice whether to keep them temporary or to make them excuses for why you failed.  These challenges can either strengthen your self-esteem or take away from the gains you have already made.  It’s important to know that setbacks happen naturally whenever you push yourself or try to change your life.  They are life’s way of asking: “How much do you really want this?” 

 

Can’t think of a better way to end the post than with that.  Have a powerful week, friends!