I have a confession to make. I am a perfectionist.
Now, I know I don’t look like it. I need to lose 75 pounds and I could probably spend a little more time in the mirror before I leave for work in the mornings. Or, you know, at least make sure there aren’t any visible stains on my shirt.
I guess calling myself a perfectionist isn’t quite accurate. Really, I use the excuse of perfectionism to throw in the towel when I come up against any tiny setback or obstacle on my way to losing weight and getting healthy.
I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about. Here’s a couple of choice quotes from the voice in my head:
o You already ate that bag of chocolate this morning. You blew it. So it doesn’t matter what you do for the rest of the day, you big fat failure.
o You can’t make it to the gym today. The day is ruined anyway, so why bother even trying to eat right?
And on and on. Here’s a little nugget of truth, though: It takes 3,500 calories to gain a pound. I’ll pause for a moment to let that … uh … digest.
Come to mama, you big doughy ball of calories
That’s a lot of calories. I’m trying to eat between 2,000 and 2,500 calories a day (I’m fat, so I get to eat more and still lose weight. Woo!). So to gain a pound (a pound!), you have to eat more than an extra day’s worth of food.
Let’s be honest. I can probably plow through 3,500 calories in a day. Take me to the boardwalk at Ocean City, Maryland and I could probably do it in a couple of hours. (Mmmhhh … funnel cake. Mmmhhh …. saltwater taffy. Mmmmhhhh …. margaritas….. Oh, you’re still here. Uhhh, hello.)
Knowing that 3,500 calories makes one pound puts that 300-calorie screwup between breakfast and lunch in perspective. I’m not saying I can screw up every day. But one screwup, especially one that I can defuse quickly, shouldn’t ruin my whole week. And I’m going to focus on that the next time I’m feeling defeated about that doughnut that jumped into my mouth at work.
Your turn: What’s one of your biggest struggles as you try to lose weight? What are some strategies you use to combat them?
A Farewell to Carbs 
Don’t let the little set backs, hiccups halt your progress forward. I think as long as you are taking more steps forward than you are backwards then your still moving in the right direction. I think a couple of my biggest struggles are reprogramming my brain, getting into a new-healthy routine, and convienience. I need this healthy lifestyle to be more convienient for sure. I guess that all comes with planning and I am trying so hard to pre plan things, so 2 step forwards !!!
Great post. I didn’t realize it took 3500 calories to gain a pound, that really does put it in perspective. So if I give in and have the donut in the office, the day really isn’t ruined. Good to know… no, GREAT to know. Because I did justify that if I was bad by lunchtime, the day was ruined so I could eat whatever I want. I’ll try to keep that in mind.
Exercise still my hardest thing to do, I have such a hard time pushing myself to do. But since I’ve made the effort 2 days in a row, I think that will help me keep going. First step is always the hardest, right?
Melissa, I’m having a terrible time getting to the gym. So frustrating. But I’m doing a pretty good job with staying within my calorie ranges, so I’m trying not to get too depressed about it.