Get back up!

"Success consists of getting back up just one more time than you fall." -- Oliver Goldsmith

It's one thing to start out the new year saying that you're going to stick to a new game plan.  The fresh vow and promise of a new future are alluring.  And it's exciting to get caught up in the momentum and the thoughts of what could be.

Until you hit your first snag or setback.

Weight loss is simple...but it definitely isn't easy all the time.

Monday night I had plans with a friend for sushi.  I'm not going to lie to you, I ate/drank most of my weekly flext points that night at dinner but it was awesome.  But I tracked all the points.

Tuesday I tracked and stayed within my points range.

But Wednesay night?  That's a whole other story.

It started with me going to Costco this weekend.  I tried a sample of this broccoli slaw salad and although it was heavily dressed, I figured I could just use less dressing.  So I bought the jumbo sized bag.

Well, Wednesday night, I saw the broccoli slaw and thought that that would make a great appetizer.  Only when I looked at the nutrition label I was stumped because the serving size was the whole bag.  And the "bag" included all the veggies, but also dried cranberries, cashews, and the dressing.  I estimated the points to the best of my ability and found that I had already gone over my points for the day.

But I was still sooooo hungry!

So I ate. 

While I think it's good that we eat when we're hungry, I didn't even make the best choices.  Once I realized that I was over my points target, I indulged a bit more. 

I found myself being disappointed.  I didn't even follow the plan two days in a row.  Honestly?  I felt like a failure, if only a little bit.

At the end of the night, I ended up 12 points in the hole for the week.  Especially frustrating since I know that it's going to be difficult to stay within my points range this weekend.

But just like every other day before, the night ended.  And Thursday, in the light of the new morning, I realized I had it in me to stay on track - at least for that day.  Besides, that's all I really have control of anyway, right?  Yesterday has passed.  Today we can start again.

Thursday night ended with me being a bit under points.  Why? Because I wasn't as hungry.

So the thing that I'm happy about today?  Not that I ate less points yesterday than the day before.  Not that I feel so much better today than what I did a week ago by eating less junk.

I'm thrilled that I started over on Thursday morning; I started with the very next meal.  I thought about what might have contributed to my extreme hunger the night before and then I front loaded my day with more protein and points so that I wasn't famished by the time I got home.

I think I'm starting to realize that failure isn't what happens when you fall, it's what happens if you don't get back up.