A week ago was my one year anniversary with the low carb way of life. My goal one year ago was to loose 45 pounds and fit back into the suit I got married in for our 15th wedding anniversary on Nov 13. I'm ten pounds short of goal. The "suit" is not going to happen by anniversary dinner night. The thing is, it doesn't hurt! It's not a disappointment. It's not something to get depressed over.

A year ago the skirt on that suit wouldn't go up past my thighs. Now it goes all the way up, and the zipper goes about half way closed, thanks to a loss of just over 5 inches on each thigh, 6 from the waist and 4 to 5 from the tummy and hips. In that year, not only have I learned to eat healthier and enjoy it, but I've also managed to deal with 11 months of intense stress dealing with my mom's loss of mobility, loss of independence, and currently hospital stay for a knee replacement. While the eating part of the last year has been relatively easy, the "other things that go bump in the night" department have thrown me so many curves which COULD HAVE lead me to go give up, binge out, and eat the old, easier, once comforting way.

So, I feel the need to deliver 2 messages...one around setting goals, and one around dealing with life while LCing.

Goals:

Part of what keeps all of us going is setting goals. The simplest goals to formulate are typically "I want to lose x pounds in y months". Why? It's just easier to measure progress and success by numbers. It gives us the illusion that we are in control. It makes us feel like there will be an end point. Goals set on numbers and time are comforting at the beginning of the journey.

We often fool ourselves into believeing we can make 10 pounds disappear in 2 months, for example. The truth is, the best we can do is encourage our body to move in the right direction, and WAIT for it to respond. It will respond in it's own time, in it's own way, which often means slower than we expect, and with plateaus, stalls, small gains along the way. The trick is to accept that the best we can do is be a good influence on what happens. The rest is up to chemistry.

I truley believe that those people who successfully move to long term LC lifestyles make a transition along the way from number measured goals, to deeper, inward facing goals focusing on quality of life and mind and spirit. Embarking on an LC lifestyle is a journey, and the rewards are in the journey not in the destination. The rewards are in what we learn along the way; what we learn about ourselves, our eating habits; what we learn about nutrition; what we learn about other people and their challenges; and how we begin to grow from within.

Life's stresses:

Stress affects weight loss. It slows things down. It makes it harder to stay on track, and so much easier to just plain give up. The trick is to realize you are in a stressful situation, and change your focus for a while. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with going to maintenance levels for a while until the stresses in your life ease off. It's a much healthier choice than quitting altogether.

When life dealt me emergencies, long car trips in the middle of the night, hospital vigils, emotional turmoil, I was able to put weight loss aside and be happy with an LC holding pattern. That meant no focus on losing, but still eating healthy. It meant opting for more Wendy's salads, and finding one or two comfort emergency foods (that were still LC) when home cooked meals were not an option or too much work. For me that was pepperoni, and yogurt with protein powder and fruit. It's certainly not something I'd want to do long term. But it got me through in a much healthier way.

And yes, I made some bad food choices along the way too. We and only we are responsible for what goes in our mouth. If we choose to eat it, we have to be prepared to deal with whatever happens. There's no point in beating oneself up over a bad choice. It wastes valuable energy.

And now what?

It's a year later now. The suit is still calling me. One day it will fit. On Wednesday night I'll be stepping out all dolled up in something else, something new, and something 4 dress sizes smaller than a year ago. I think that's a pretty good anniversary present to myself.