If you’ve never failed you’ve never lived.

18^th January 2012

There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them.  Tom Krause

Two of my members got to their goal weights last night which is always a boost, and weight loss yesterday was 322lb which is a whopping 23 stone, well do everyone, that’s really what motivates me when I’m having a tough week which I am.  I’m still managing to eat well, just gone over my ProPoints, still doing my best though, and as the quote says above, there are no failures, just experiences and your reactions to them, or as I like to say, it isn’t failure – it’s feedback! 

Often times we invest failure with the wrong kind of power by thinking it's a permanent state that holds us down, rather than a temporary condition that we can learn and grow from -  often to remarkable heights. Many a famous person failed in their respective fields before rising to greatness such as Walt Disney who was sacked for having no imagination nor original ideas or Lucille Ball who was dismissed from drama school for being too shy to put her best foot forward, The Beatles were turned down by Decca recording because they didn’t like their sound and guitar music was on its way out! If you’ve never failed you’ve never lived. 

And the same going for weight loss, having a bad day, a bad week or even a bad month does not mean ultimately you won’t get to your goal.  My mom yo-yo’d for years, at her heaviest she was 18 stone, she’s now been at her goal weight for 8 years.  I too have a set of gold cards with a variety of dates on them (I used to rejoin and pretend I hadn’t been a member before), but like mom I have more or less maintained for 8 years, I may struggle with that last 8-12lb but hell I was a size 20 and 13st 12lb at my heaviest so I can live with the constant day to day tracking and ProPointing to stop me gaining anymore and trying to get back to my gold weight. 

And today I will attempt to stick to my 26pp once again, I’m going to have a proper breakfast, going to give the Weight Watchers breakfast oats a go because they’re already weighed out for me and my scales are in my car for this weeks meeting.  For lunch I’m making the Hoi Sin Ham Wrap from this weeks Your Week need to get cucumber and spring onions though whilst I’m out.  Then for tea, it might be something out of the freezer, maybe grey peas.  Sorted, that was easy enough to plan; it took me all of the time it took to type!

Remember it’s January, usually around this time the newspapers tell us it’s the gloomiest day of the year, I know it was the 17^th January last year, so you are perfectly normal to feel a bit grumpy – but that doesn’t give you permission to let the mood linger.  Acknowledge it then work out how you’re going to shake it off!  Find something positive to think about, something fun to do.  I took my mind off the gloom and the huge pile of paperwork yesterday by looking for an outfit for our London trip in February, we’re off to a burlesque club, so what better than a corset.  I bagged a bargain in the end and hopefully when it arrives and I try it on, it will make me feel good too, I’ll let you know.
Let’s enjoy the madness that is midweek and smile all day long – even if you’re not feeling the smiley – pretend, you never know it might change your mood. 

You smiling yet – I AM!