If you've never heard of this movement, Google it and check it out. It's called "The Ripples Project", and I get their weekly e-mails. The whole point of it is to "explore the extraordinary power of tiny actions."
Ain't that the truth when it comes to weight loss!
You may (not) be surprised that I am a bit of a drama queen. (SHOCK! HORROR!). I've never been good with planning, or consistency, routines, or baby steps. Baby steps are for suckers; I wanna leap from one place to another, dammit.
Weight loss doesn't work that way. Sure, the drama of losing 30+ pounds between the time I had my surgery and the time I went home 8 days later really fed my drama appetite, but it's been a month and my weight hasn't changed--except for up and down 2.5 lbs. So I'm having to rely on the little things, instead of the big losses. Like not eating until I get sick. Like choosing a protein over a carb. Like being able to do 15 minutes on the elliptical when I could only do 10 minutes last week. And what I'm really hoping for is that all of these little things will eventually add up. That I'll feel the "extraordinary power of my tiny actions."
I thought of this today because in their weekly e-mail they always include some cool quotes, usually submitted by other readers. This week, it really struck home:
"When I let go of what I am,
I become what I might be."
--Lao Tzu
(Disclaimer: It does seem like I'm all cool and zen-ish with this quote, doesn't it? Zen doesn't exactly describe me. Case in point, one of my all-time favorite quotes is this one: "Whenever I'm driving through the desert, and I see a roadrunner, I run it over and say, 'That's for the coyote!' I don't really like the coyote, but it's a good excuse to run over things."—Craig Stacey. Yeah. Zen, I ain't.)
So anyhoo, right now I'm taking baby steps (grumble, grumble) and trying to let go of the fat person I've been to be the healthy person I might be. That's this week's homework assignment.
Does anyone have a quote that they live by, are trying to live by, or that they just really like?
When I visited my surgeon the first time (tomorrow is my 2nd appt) he yelled at me for only having lost 20lbs in a month. Then he told me what I should be eating so I have followed his advice this month (mostly) sticking to protein drinks and meat protein and the occasional lettuce leaf. (Yummy!) I hope you break the (fateau) plateau.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite quotes of all time is this: "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." ~Abraham Lincoln
ReplyDeleteThis is a reminder to me that we are all flawed, and I try to believe the best about someone unless they have given me reason to believe otherwise. It drives my husband crazy (he tends to make very quick judgments about people), but that's how I roll. LOL
My new life quote is one I picked up from Susan Maria's book..."Nothing tastes as good as thin feels" ~Susan Maria Leach, author of " Before & After, Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery" If I can keep this quote in the forefront of my mind, I just may end up winning this battle!
Baby Steps, that's what I've been trying to do... lately I've taken giant leaps in the wrong direction... but we won't talk about that ;)
ReplyDeleteYou are doing great. I LOVE that quote, and I'm stealing it. I also have always loved that Abraham Lincoln quote too. I used to have it posted here by my desk, but I took it down a ways back... after to many people pissed me off.
I love The Serenity Prayer, and am trying to live by that now.
I also love this one:
Be who you are and say what you feel...
Because those that matter, don't mind...
And those that mind, don't matter.
-Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)
I have always lived by 'It could always be worse'... by me LOL. not sure if anyone said it first hehe. I can be zen like, but most of the time not :)
Here's another of my favorites:
"If you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed I will, I have time."
~Tommy Boy :)
Just visited The Ripples Project. LOVE it :)
ReplyDeleteI love the Peter Drucker quote that I've been writing about on my blog. "What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it is another matter."
ReplyDeleteI think the baby steps are really the only way we can change who we are - physically or emotionally.
Congrats for working on your baby steps...I need to practice doing the same!
Well, 3 from me in one post... that has to be a record right??? :) Maybe you are just lucky! hehe.
ReplyDeleteTAG! You're it! :)
Come visit my blog to see your 8 QUESTIONS
WOW ... wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW! I just found you (via Tina's site) and your before and current photos are AWESOME. Surgery aside, has your relationship with food changed, or just the amounts? I don't know a thing about surgery (pre or post-op), but I can sure see it has worked. Congratulations! I like your sense of humor (praying your employees don't find this blog) ... and you have a wonderful attitude. I posted a quote last week, which I found amusing and insightful. It is by Zig Ziglar: "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing -- that's why we recommend it daily." Thanks, Babe, for the motivation!
ReplyDeleteYou guys are all so cool.
ReplyDeleteJannell: I don't know what you're talking about. I just ate my own lettuce leaf, and boy am I stuffed! :-)
Diann: I have my own version of the Abe Lincoln quote I say a lot at work: "Assume good intent." It's so true that it affects how we speak and react.
Tina: I'm off to pick up my questions, thanks!
HFP: Reminds me of "just keep swimming" from that movie with the fish--crap, I can't remember the name--but you know what I mean.
Ann: I LOVE the Zig Ziglar quote. I'm going to have to remember that one. Thanks for visiting!