"I fear not the man who has done 10,000 kicks, but the man who has done one kick... 10,000 times!" -said a great martial artist (I can't remember his name, but please post below if you know!)
I've been thinking a lot about this quote this week. I'm grateful that dieting and working out are each kicks i've trained 10,000 times now. I know what works and what doesn't for me. I'm still open minded about trying new things, but i've found answers to my questions, and solutions to my problems that keep me balanced.
It didn't happen overnight. Oh no, no, no. I tried and failed and then one day I turned around and saw that all that trying had resulted in success. I was grateful- humbled and surprised.
Then I was hooked.
I did it again. And again, and again!
It was a few years before I realized that I'd become addicted to weight loss- I'd learned how to do it, but you can only play the game if you have something to lose. And In order to have something to lose, you have to gain the weight first.
I loved losing weight and feeling my pants get looser. But, like most normal people, I hated gaining weight and feeling the muffin top roll over my pants. You can't have one without the other, of course. That's where the long haul- the balance- the maintenance bet comes in.
You see, I've practiced the weight loss/weight gain kick at least 10,000 times. True, kicking 80 pounds back to my goal weight after a pregnancy is a lot more substantial than the 5-29 lb child's play kicks of my past, but it's ultimately a repetition of the same kick over and over to get there.
I've got 20 pounds to go, but then I want to try a new kick: the maintenance bet. Who is with me?