I had a timely reminder this morning that the intention, for me anyhow, is not to "lose weight" but to live a longer and healthier life. As soon as we focus on losing weight we set ourselves up for failure and disappointment any time we are "not losing weight".  "Losing weight" is diet culture - and this next part is absolutely critical - which implies a beginning and an end.  Living a longer and healthier life is a journey instead of a destination. It's not about the finish line, it's about the crossing.

If we weigh ourselves daily and those numbers inexplicably go up a bit at a time when we feel we're working harder than ever it can hit us hard in the motivation feels. We can get discouraged and science has shown us that that one negative feeling carries a lot more power than a great many positive feelings. If that sounds specific it's because it is! I weighed in several days ago (I try to only weigh myself once per week) and I had lost 6 pounds.  Fifty percent more than my estimated amount.  Since then, I've worked even harder in Supernatural as I learn to love this whole new exercise option. So today when I stepped on the scale I expected (...there's that word...) some amount of loss and instead was actually up one pound!

I immediately felt that rush of disappointment, the internal dialogue "How is that possible?! I've been working hard, eating right on target, sweating twice as much!" and because of my practice I also saw the next part arise and clearly saw it had no foundation whatsoever other than that dialogue...the doubt. I would tell you what the doubt said to me, but I let it go the moment I saw it arising...it never quite got off the ground. 

Instead I reflected on my previous 2010 success, and how that looked.  I remembered weighing myself every day and noticing the ups and downs, and that weighing daily is often very skewed.  I recalled that I focused on living a better life, not on losing weight.  I focused on how I felt each day instead of how I looked or the statistics that I saw on the scale.

Today, one pound in the wrong direction apparently, I feel fantastic! I am sore in that great "I'm working out" way. I am motivated and happy. The rest will be the fruit of that!

Cliche's are cliche for a reason...it may sound cliche to say that "it's about the journey not the destination" but it's the absolute truth and may even be the key to the whole thing, so instead of worrying about the scale every day, focus on how you feel about your efforts!

Keep it up!