It is rare to find any person who is 100% satisfied with how they look. In our own eyes, we can always be thinner, have nicer/longer/richer hair, have better skin, and a myriad of other problems that only we are aware of. Unfortunately, I am included in this number.
Since my wedding, I have relaxed a bit. Last semester was a particularly difficult one for me, and I skipped the gym to keep up and ordered Dominos and the like to save time. Once summer came, I was so burned out that I didn’t step it up at the gym, as I usually do, which didn’t help. And I lived on soda—for some reason, I was craving it all summer. So the natural result of all this (I suppose), is that I’ve gained some weight. I don’t know how much in pounds (I don’t weigh myself; I find it depressing) but there is a definite girth to my stomach that wasn’t there before. I am still considered “thin;” I still fit into all my clothes (although they are slightly tighter) and you can’t notice it if I’m wearing clothes, but it still really bothers me. So last week, I went to the gym every day except for the day we had to meet with our mortgage guy, and this week I plan to do the same. I haven’t felt any thinner because of last week, but hopefully with this week I will start to lose some weight.
The husband, Max, is quite supportive and complimentary, and it helps so much. He is always encouraging me to go to the gym, but he never, ever comments on what I’m eating (I usually manage to talk myself out of my midnight Wawa ice cream runs). That support is invaluable.
He does have this theory, however, that I’m not sure that I believe in. Actually, it’s more of a belief (for a man without a faith, Max has lots of beliefs). He believes that if you believe something, it will happen. Now, he does not mean that if I believe that the skies will open and shower me with gold, it will actually happen. He thinks instead that by believing something, you kind of set your mind on that course, and it will eventually happen. So, if I believe I am on my way to looking good, other people will notice that and agree with me. I will appreciate this feedback, which will in turn inspire me to stay with the exercise and diet plan.
The aspect that I both appreciate and dislike of this idea is one and the same: it puts the responsibility on me, which is where it should be. I am ultimately responsible for my weight (barring a medical condition, of course). I do have control, but I have to put in the effort. Therein lays the tradeoff.
Well, I am off to my lunch of pizza bagels (only a little over 200 calories!) and grapes (barely a 100 calories!).
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1 comment:
Believing that if you believe something it will be more likely to come about has a good deal of support. I don't mean any kind of The Secret woo here, it has to be the kind of goal that is plausably within your power and one that presents you with multiple chances to make real decisions about your goal over time. Look up the Pygmallion Effect and Self Selling for the technical details.
It't like that episode of The Simpsons when Homer wished that Flanders would go broke. Homer had opportunities to help Flanders, but declined to do so because of the image of the wish in his mind.
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