Cross posted at antimattr.net
nana korobi ya oki is a Japanese proverb that translates roughly as “fall down 7 times, get up 8”. Well, I fell yesterday, and fell hard. I’m feeling a ton of stress personally, professionally and financially, and yesterday I made some sad choices in a very misguided attempt to deal with my feelings using food. Of course, those problems are still there, and I only caused myself guilt and regret. I’m still struggling today, but I have made a conscious choice to do whatever it takes today to resist eating or acting out any other way to deal with those feelings. They are just feelings, and I refuse to let them own me. I will call my diet coaches, do an exercise out of The Beck Diet Solution, and anything else I have to in order to stay on program. My life, my health and my sanity are worth more than any food.
The lesson that I’m learning is that I need to focus on the process. I’m struggling in part because I’ve already skipped two days of exercise this week, I haven’t been posting on the Weight Watchers boards much, I haven’t been doing the exercises from The Beck Diet Solution, and I haven’t been making daily phone calls to the guys in my support group. Losing 130 lbs is a huge task, and I cannot do it alone. Heck, I can’t even really control whether the weight comes off, but I can control what I eat today, whether I exercise or not, and whether I use the tools I have available to assist me. I need to surrender to the process and stick to my program.
Today, I get up again. And if I fall, I will get up yet again. I will persevere-the stakes are too high to give up.
{ 2 comments }
I love this – fall down 7 times, get up 8! I often talk about self-confidence and perseverance on my blog, and to see someone living it makes me happy!
Ah, this was well used by my Sensi in my karate class! It used to be up on the wall in japanese with a little English translation. Kept me going when the bigger kids kicked my behind
Btw, when you said you’re gona resist eating, I hope you didn’t mean starve yourself. Instead, try having alternate healthy snacks. Anything HIGH in fiber is a good call for 2 reasons.
1. Foods high in fiber make you feel full for longer.
2. Increasing fiber intake will let your body absorb anywhere 100-150 FEWER calories everyday. It acts as a blocker.
Give that a go. Good luck.