03 November 2008
Simple ≠ Easy
Linda Holmes (who I still think of as Miss Alli) only wrote a few posts for her weight loss blog, but what she lacked in quantity she made up for in quality.
For instance, this post. She points out that just because something is simple (like eating less and exercising more), it isn't necessarily easy.
"I mean, running a marathon is just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other until you reach the finish line; the fact that it’s simple doesn’t make it easy."
Very true. My personal weight-loss plan is super simple: Daily exercise (22 months now!) and a daily dessert budget (12 months!). Simple? Yes. Easy? Hell no.
There's a basket of Halloween candy in the break room at work. Every time I see it, I think "Ooh, candy! I want to eat some!!". And I don't mean, "Every morning when I walk into the break room," I mean, every time I see it. Every time I walk into the room -- ooh, candy! Every time I put my lunch in the fridge -- ooh, candy! Every time I get a Kleenex -- ooh, candy! Every time I use the microwave -- ooh, candy! Every damn time.
But I don't eat it. I think the reason I haven't is because I know that I can. That is, it's allowed in my plan. I could skip the dessert I brought with my lunch and have candy instead, or I could eat both and not have dessert after dinner. For me, that works. But it's still not easy. Simple, but not easy.
Later in the same post, she wrote something I found inspirational:
"Okay, try this as an experiment: Think about something you have in your kitchen that you could eat. Don’t eat it, just think about it for about ten seconds. Close your eyes if necessary. Okay, did you do it? Did you think about it and choose not to eat it? Congratulations, you’re following the Linda Plan. And I’m only partly being facetious. One of the biggest revelations to me was the 'You’re doing it right now' moment."
My plan is working, but it's working slooowly. I think the "you're doing it right now" statement is very encouraging. Every time I walk into the break room and don't eat any candy, "I'm doing it right now".
For instance, this post. She points out that just because something is simple (like eating less and exercising more), it isn't necessarily easy.
"I mean, running a marathon is just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other until you reach the finish line; the fact that it’s simple doesn’t make it easy."
Very true. My personal weight-loss plan is super simple: Daily exercise (22 months now!) and a daily dessert budget (12 months!). Simple? Yes. Easy? Hell no.
There's a basket of Halloween candy in the break room at work. Every time I see it, I think "Ooh, candy! I want to eat some!!". And I don't mean, "Every morning when I walk into the break room," I mean, every time I see it. Every time I walk into the room -- ooh, candy! Every time I put my lunch in the fridge -- ooh, candy! Every time I get a Kleenex -- ooh, candy! Every time I use the microwave -- ooh, candy! Every damn time.
But I don't eat it. I think the reason I haven't is because I know that I can. That is, it's allowed in my plan. I could skip the dessert I brought with my lunch and have candy instead, or I could eat both and not have dessert after dinner. For me, that works. But it's still not easy. Simple, but not easy.
Later in the same post, she wrote something I found inspirational:
"Okay, try this as an experiment: Think about something you have in your kitchen that you could eat. Don’t eat it, just think about it for about ten seconds. Close your eyes if necessary. Okay, did you do it? Did you think about it and choose not to eat it? Congratulations, you’re following the Linda Plan. And I’m only partly being facetious. One of the biggest revelations to me was the 'You’re doing it right now' moment."
My plan is working, but it's working slooowly. I think the "you're doing it right now" statement is very encouraging. Every time I walk into the break room and don't eat any candy, "I'm doing it right now".
Labels: health, Linda Holmes
# posted by mamurd @ 8:12 PM 
