Effort and lack thereof

As you've probably guessed it from my lack of posts, I lost focus on my weight loss. Again.

I'm certainly not the only one to experience this phenom. You know the story: a big person gets a burst of motivation to change their life. He or she sets goals to be more active, eat healthier, and lose weight. And all that energy lasts about a week and then POOF! they're back in the drive thru saying "large size, with a diet Coke."

My friend Pjaye has been making serious changes to her lifestyle over the last year, and she's seeing lots of progress. She used to be fairly large, but because of Weight Watchers and a gym membership, she has lost more than 65 pounds. I once asked her how she keeps the motivation alive, and she said that she just has to be really OCD about things like going to the gym. That's great, but how does one not be OCD about eating high-fat, greasy cheeseburgers?

I've heard people suggest that weight loss is all about priorities, and one choosing to make it their number one priority. I guess I don't understand how to do that. I certainly want to lose the weight bad enough, and yet the desire for weight loss is never that appealing when I have to choose between a home cooked meal and a greasy cheeseburger, or choose between going for a walk and sitting on the couch watching TV. It's not that I don't know how to set goals. I've done it before. Last year I completed my Masters in Teaching degree, capping a 9-year long college career. During those years of studying, I never once considered dropping out of school. I had a goal of getting a BA, and MIT, and my teaching certificate, and I met all of those goals. Surely, if I can spend a third of my life working toward a degree, then I can spend a few years losing 175 pounds.

This weekend the weather is supposed to be dry. I think I'll take advantage of it and go for a stroll or two around the neighborhood.