Willpower

This apparently is a
real product. Wouldn't
it be nice if losing weight
really was as easy
as taking a pill?

Sometimes I just don't have any willpower. (No, not the Indy Car driver, though he's kinda cute.) I'm talking about the strength to say "No, I don't need those chocolate covered pretzels. No, I don't need a bag of chips." The strength to turn off that switch in my brain that says, "You're hungry." when really it's saying, "You're bored. Stuff your face."

One year and four months(ish) ago, I made a major lifestyle change. I ate less. I exercised more. I drank a lot of water. I blogged about my weight loss goals and what I had discovered and what was working for me. And I lost 35 pounds. I didn't diet. I didn't take pills. I didn't join some expensive program that sent me nasty food every week. (If you want more info on what did work for me, feel free to send me an email at amyswiney(at)gmail(dot)com and I will be glad to tell you what "program" I used. It was free.)

Then I stagnated, stuck at the same weight, about 30 pounds over what I would like to be. I started running, but kind of fell back into my old eating habits, so no more weight came off. I set a goal for myself. Run a 5k. Joe (my husband) and I ran our first 5k on March 19 this year (which also was the day our son Andrew was born 5 years ago). After we finished, I thought, I'll take a day or two off to reward myself. And fell into the regular depression that follows Andrew's birthday every year, until April 12. Which lead to me not running.

Now I haven't run for almost three months. I feel guilty about not running. I want to run. And there's that willpower thing again. I lack the willpower to get myself out of bed early in the morning and go for a run. Or come home at night and run.

Which direction are you headed?

Don't get me wrong, I feel great about the weight I lost. I fit in "regular" size clothes now. I can wear cute dresses and outfits and look good. I love my curves. But I would like to drop this last bit of weight, not keep fluctuating up and down with the same five pounds, and stay on a regular exercise schedule.

So, it's time to find that willpower, and take that left turn to Success.