I wrote this for my SoarkPeople blog this morning.
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I am so glad I signed up for The Transformer Diet Bet. Just the act of signing up crystallized my determination to drop the weight already. Over the last few years, I've spent so much time and energy wondering if I could lose the weight, wondering if I was "good enough" as I am, wondering if losing the weight was really "worth it," wondering if I could let go of the yo-yo and just be the person I want to be. Those paralyzing thoughts have nearly vanished. I put money on myself. I actually placed a bet on my ability to do this. That means I believe the goal is desirable, attainable, and achievable! It means I believe in myself. It means I'm unified in my desire to move out of this doubtful, insecure, stuck part of my life into a fresh, new, healthier future. It means I refuse to continue to allow my weight to be a limiting factor in my life, and I refuse to continue to allow it to take up so much emotional and mental "space" in my life.
So far, it's been fun. The other Diet Betters are positive, energetic, and fired up! There's an active official community on the Diet Bet site, but there's an even more active unofficial FaceBook group. For whatever reason, my Spark communities aren't as active as they once were (and to be fair, I am not as active in them as I once was), and I've found this interaction very motivating.
My first official weigh in will be December 18. To win this first round, I need to have lost 3% of my starting weight, which would be 158.5. Today I weighed in at 158.4! Even with Thanksgiving, travel, and eating out with family. This 157-158 threshold is a big one for me; for a few years now, I've gotten to this point and then bounced back into the 160's. Now I have the incentive and momentum to stay focused, release self-doubt, and push through.
I intend to get a jump start towards my January 18 goal, which is 153.6. That seems scarier to me because that weigh in period includes Christmas, New Year's, 1 week at my parents' house followed by 2 weeks with them at my home (lots of eating out!), and my birthday! It isn't the end if the world if I don't meet my Round 2 goal of course, but by reaching my Round 1 goal 15 days early, it gives me a little extra time.
Of course, the main goal right now is to be sure that today's number holds for the official December 18 weigh in!