Mind Your Thoughts

Disappointed ... that's how I felt on Monday. I had started out the week before with the hope that I would lose one pound and achieve the goal of having lost 10 percent of my starting weight. After this weekend I assumed I had not done it.

I was disappointed in myself. Disappointment, left unattended, drops into depression. Depression is where I lose hope. I think that I CAN'T continue on this path, that I will NEVER lose the weight, that I will NEVER change, that I am a failure, that there is NO HOPE.

One small phrase, spoken unknowingly ... turned my thinking around. I was talking to my brother on Monday. I told him that I was disappointed with myself and he said, "Well, I'M NOT disappointed in you." Then went on to say that he knew how hard it is to lose weight. He reminded me that he is also watching his weight. He has his struggles too. He encouraged me that we all have times where we are going to "just need to eat" and that it's OK. We can do it and not beat ourselves up about it.

He ate pizza, wings, apple pie and ice cream the day before for his birthday. He said that he wanted to and did.

My thought patterns are a HUGE piece of this journey toward good health. As I am learning to choose what I put into my mouth, I must also choose what thoughts I allow to stay in my head.