Wednesday, July 03, 2019

A Drop in the Bucket: small steps toward weight loss

I have been thinking a lot about my progress on my journey to get healthy, fit and lose weight.   It is so difficult to not get bogged down by the utterly slow pace.  It is so difficult to be positive when it feels as if I am not progressing.   It gets old.  But lately I have been thinking about my journey in a different manner.  And while I still want my progress to be faster, these thoughts really shed a new light on this journey.

We live in a society where we want things right here and right now. Instant gratification is the concept that we tend to live by.  And that’s not a bad thing...for the most part.  However, it sets us up for failure in ventures where there is no such thing as instant gratification!  Unfortunately losing weight and getting fit are some of the ventures in life where instant gratification is not usually an option.  It takes hard work.  It takes perseverance.  It takes continual effort.  Results don’t come overnight, even though I/we want them to appear like magic!

I posted my June goal results in my last post.  I didn’t want to post my weigh in results. I have a lot of weight to lose and only losing 1.2 pounds for the month isn’t exactly stellar.  It’s kind of embarrassing actually.   You see I would have loved to post that I reached my goal in the month of June.  I would have been tickled to post that I lost 20 pounds....but 1.2 pounds?   Are you serious?  But that is the instant gratification thought process working within me.   I lost 1.2 pounds.  Baby steps, small beans, not what I wanted.....but progress nonetheless.  Maybe the scales didn’t show a huge weight loss but my food tracker (myfitnesspal) shows that my food intake was solidly in the healthy range with healthy choices.  I was exercising and walking and moving as much as possible.  It wasn’t for lack of trying that I didn’t show a huge loss.  So maybe...just maybe I should be happy....tickled even with that 1.2 pound loss.  Sure it’s only a drop in the bucket as to what I need to lose, but enough drops in that bucket WILL eventually fill that bucket!

I want to be able to hop on my bike and ride the trails like a pro....or at least without huffing and puffing like a steam train!  But that’s not the way it is right now.  I struggle.  It’s tough.  It isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination.  I want it easy though, I’m putting in the effort. I want it to be easy NOW!   It isn’t though, each ride is tough.  Each ride kicks my behind!  BUT, each time I go out I can see improvements.....if I look hard enough.  You see the improvements are not huge strides.  They are small subtle steps in the right direction.   Some rides it is so small that I really have to look to see the improvement.  It is is only when I realize that I only stopped to walk my bike up a hill 3 times during a ride...when the last ride it was four places that I have to walk that I realize that I made a small improvement.   Sometimes it’s hard to see the victory in completing a trail without stopping because I am breathing so hard and my legs are screaming in freakish agony.  I want to complete it with no major struggle.  But guess what?  While I want it to be a breeze, it is still a victory because I did it...and I did it just a bit better than the last time I tried that trail.  Small baby steps. 

Jason summed it up the other day when I was lamenting about how difficult it is and how I just want to be able to ride these trails without the struggle.    He reminded me that up until recently 99% of our rides were on flat trails....(and we didn’t ride much during the winter months so we were already at a deficit).  We have only been riding these difficult trails consistently for the last month.  One month.  He gently said ‘I didn’t expect you to be sailing smoothly along only one month in, it takes time.   But I can see you improve each ride.  I can even see the muscles in your legs come back to life!  You also ride faster, further and harder each time and I don’t see you struggling as much. The improvement is there....just look for the SMALL improvements because they will eventually add up to the result that you want.’ 

Hmmmm. Isn’t that the truth?   This goes for so many things.  My shoulder ache...I want it to be better NOW...but that’s not how things heal....they take time, but other than when I aggravate it (such as in a bike accident  I can see that it aches less and less each day.    My riding.....I want it perfect now...but I can see it getting better each time I ride (and I enjoy it more each time also!). Weight loss is the same.  1.2 pounds is still progress and movement in the right direction!   My  efforts will eventually result in the desired physical health that I desire.  But I have to be patient. I have to let the process work.  I have to keep pushing forward and stop lamenting about the slow progress.  I have to stop downplaying the 1.2 pounds in one month.   I have to celebrate each tiny step that I make in the right direction!   Those small drops WILL fill the bucket!



12 comments:

jen said...


All those little numbers add up to bigger numbers....keep up the effort, you doing awesome......really you are !!!!

mxtodis123 said...

I lost 53 pounds by losing .2, .4, or .6 a week. Took me forever but I did it. I think that's why I am feeling so frustrated now as I find myself sabotaging everything I did.

Mrs Swan said...

Them baby steps are important! I feel you on the small which is why I am only announcing my weight once a month. It feels better to say a larger number. You had a rough months girl so 1.2 is fantastic! You met your goal. You weighed less.

MaryFran said...

That makes sense about the on w a month announcement. I juat in my instant gratification mind wanted more than 1.2 pounds for the month. Lol! Yes I’m whining!!!

MaryFran said...

Remember the frustration at the slowness! Use that as motivation for stopping the current sabotage streak!

MaryFran said...

Thanks! I’m hoping that I someday get there!

Tiffany said...

One step at a time and supporting you all the way. new blog https://onewomansjourneytoasimplelife.blogspot.com/

Kerstin said...

Hi Maryfran! Thanks for your comment, it's so nice to reconnect! Can you believe that we've known each other virtually for a few years now? I for one am very happy to see you're still blogging and still sharing about your weight loss/health journey. This post is so timely, too! I am totally with regarding wanting faster results. For me it's not just the weight loss (I just started again and am looking at roughly 100 lbs to lose) but also my joints, I've been having a lot of problems that are impacting my mobility and it's so frustrating. I am now scheduled for physio in a month but in the meantime I have to be super careful, just yesterday I misstepped and re-injured my knee, sigh. I love what you say about appreciating the (more realistic) baby steps and looking at the positive movement in the right direction. You're losing weight (slowly, but losing) and you're getting fitter (slowly but you ARE cycling those more difficult trails) - that's a lot of progress in the right direction. But yeah, it would be nice to get there already, right?! It helps to know I'm not alone with this and reading this helped me give myself a bit more compassion - it's a journey, always. xo

MaryFran said...

Just added the new blog to my list!!!

MaryFran said...

You are definitely not alone! And don’t look at the total pounds you have to lose. Just look at each day..each week or even each month ...the big picture freaks me out too much! (Ok it doesn’t freak me out, it discourages me!). Yikes to the knee and joints! That is the hardest one too...because you know if you move you can help the process but I’d you do,it hurts and you struggle. I’ve been there (too many times to count!!!). Baby steps! The weight loss is the start....that will/should help the joints!!!

Sarah said...

You're moving in the right direction and that is what matters.

It's so frustrating that progress has to be so slow. I'm not giving up and you aren't either!

MaryFran said...

We are going to conquer! We can definitely do it!!!