Guest Post - Finding Radiance

On top of my excitement over finishing my first 10K last weekend is the fact that this week I celebrate my 3rd year anniversary of my weight loss journey.  I wanted to do a big whoop-di-do with a slideshow and such...until my other computer froze and we couldn't take it to the shop right away.  


The other thing I wanted to share with you in celebration was spotlight two women who I admire for their focus and determination on their weightless journeys.  


Today I'm sharing a post from Lori at Finding Radiance.  I found Lori's blog pretty quickly after starting my own and she became a mentor to me, without knowing it, because of three things: 

1. Her love of coffee.  :)
2. Her love of sweets, and making them fit into her life while still maintaining a large weight loss. 
3. Her size - she was about my heigh and beginning weight (approx) and seeing her photo gave me something to look forward to.  

Today, please take a moment to read a few things Lori has to say on weight loss, reaching goals and embracing every victory along the way:

Leah had approached me about doing a guest post for her blog from people who achieved their goals. I wasn’t sure at first because I really never have reached my goal.  Even though I have lost 100 pounds and have kept it off for almost 4 years, I never did get that last bit of weight off.  When they say the last 10 pounds are the hardest – they are not kidding!  

The message that I want to give to you then would be not to think the goal is the be all and end all to your journey.  I read a lot of blogs where people fear they are never going to get to goal.  You know what?  It isn’t the end of the world.  No one is going to broadcast in the newspaper that you are losing slow or have backslid some or still have 10 pounds to go.  That doesn’t define you as a person.  

Part of being a successful maintainer of any loss – even in you aren’t at goal – is to appreciate what you have done and the permanent changes you have made to keep that off.  That often gets lost in the weeds.  You hear “I only lost a pound”. Well, guess what?  That is fabulous!  Do that only every other week for a year and you are down 25 pounds at the end of the year.  That sounds like a lot of weight then, doesn’t it?  It’s not about how much/how fast. It is about how long you keep it off.  

Stuck in a plateau?  That’s okay.  Be glad you are plateauing and not gaining the weight back. Stick to your plan and don’t give up.

Celebrate every pound, every inch, every extra yard you run/bike/swim on the way down. All of those things really mean something and will help you learn how to *keep* off the weight.  We all know how to lose weight.  Losing it is really the easy part. Keeping it lost is the hard part unless you build a good set of tools for life.