Maintenance is Scary.

Maintenance is scary. It’s scary because there’s no finish line. It’s forever. As 2013 comes closer to ending, I’m overwhelmed with the thought of another year ahead. As years go by, maybe someday it will become simple: eat right and exercise, but until that happens every day is a battle.

Because I spent all of my life until this year not exercising, every day I have to remind myself to make it part of my life. It would be great if someday, exercising is like brushing my teeth, just something that I don’t have to make myself do. But for now it’s an every day battle. I know that sounds strange (it even sounds strange to me) because I LOVE it once I’m there, but when I’m laying in bed, the old me sneaks into my head… It says, “You could get an hour more sleep.” Or “Do you REALLY feel like it today?” And then the new me has to press down those feelings and remind myself that I will spend the whole day regretting it if I don’t work out in the morning.

And then there’s eating for maintenance. There’s this mindset I have sometimes, and that’s the thought that i have a “cheat day.” Let me say that I know for some people, this works. They give themselves a day, and they don’t go completely overboard and they get right back on track. But for me, if I give myself a cheat day, I WILL go overboard and sometimes one day turns into two or three. So for me, allowing “cheats” MUST be done in small doses, and sometimes that is incredibly difficult.

This is all an every day battle, it requires will power and strength that I don’t always have. It’s scary to think that there are so many ups and downs with this. The thought of having to maintain every thing that I’ve learned this year is a lot of pressure, especially because it’s now so public. Like always, I’m willing to try just about anything to make maintenance easier, starting by reading some other blogs. I’ll report back here with what I discover.

For anyone out there, whose thinking that maintenance is the most intimidating part of wait loss, I want you to know you’re not alone. I feel that way too. It’s hard knowing that this never ends. But I think the best thing I can do is admit the difficulties, and look for ways to keep making it easier.

Crystal

@Fitcrys

#FITJ