I have a habit of occasionally opening an draft email, starting to type up a blog post, getting distracted, saving the draft with the intention of coming back to it later, and then completely forgetting about it.
Did that even make sense? :) Anyway, this past week I was cleaning out my drafts folder and deleting a bunch of stuff (and happily, finding a few gems that I'll probably still post eventually).
Anyway, one of the things I found was this quiz I took not long after I started Weight Watchers. I wish I could remember where I'd originally gotten it from (if you remember ever blogging about it, let me know!) I actually tried to find this quiz again a few months ago, but I couldn't remember the web site, so I was delighted to stumble on it this week.
So this is going to seem strange, but I actually give this quiz a lot of credit for my success with finally losing this weight. (Doubly strange because the website it comes from seems kinda flaky.) I'll let you read through the quiz, along with my answers, and then I'll come back and tell you what 'clicked' for me after taking this quiz.
(I'm posting my answers 'as is', which is totally embarrassing, but you'll get an idea of where my head was at.)
1. Where do you get your energy from? What are you passionate about?
- I get energy from a clean and organized house
- I get energy from completing projects
- I get energy from working out
- I am passionate about having creative projects to work on
- I am passionate about animal welfare (side note: how random was that answer?)
- I am passionate about ?
2. Think back to the last time you were comfortable in your own skin. What was different about that time (attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, mood, energy, passion)?
This question is really hard. I don’t know how many times I actually HAVE been comfortable in my own skin. I think they come at moments rather than periods. I am comfortable with Shaun, I’m comfortable when I’m deeply involved in a project (knitting, blogging, etc.) I think I’m comfortable when I’m not thinking or focusing too much on my body.
3. What is your ideal weight (even if it seems unlikely)? Your desired weight (the weight you think you could probably achieve)? Your tolerable weight (the highest weight you could live with, even if you might be disappointed)?
- Ideal weight: 135
- Desired weight: 150
- Tolerable weight: 175
4. How did you come up with your desired weight? Why do you want to weigh this specific weight?
150 is my Weight Watchers goal. I’d like to make lifetime, so 150 it is. Plus it seems like a good ‘average’ weight. I think I’d stop feeling so freakish at that weight.
5. How achievable is your desired weight?
- When were you last at your desired weight?
- How hard do you think it would be to stay at this weight?
- Would your tolerable weight offer the same benefits?
I think it’s achievable, though I can’t remember ever actually being at this weight. I do think I would have to change quite a few things (gradually over time.) I think I would have to work out about 5 times a week and drink a lot less than I do now. I think the tolerable weight might be okay too, as long as I could fit into a normal pant size (size 12 or less). (Side note: I’m about 10 lbs below that weight now, and I still barely fit into a size 12! Funny that.)
6. How would your life differ if you reached your desired weight? What could you do that you can’t do now?
I think I would feel differently about myself. I think I would feel more accomplished, and not hold myself back as much. I think I could be a runner. I think I would have more energy. I could schedule activities and not feel overwhelmed and exhausted by them. I could buy cuter clothes and shop at different stores.
7. What things that you don’t do now because of your weight might you be able to start doing sooner than later?
I suppose I could start running now.
8. What obstacles are in the way of eating healthfully, losing weight?
- My own laziness
- Need a sports bra
- Need a bike tune-up
9. Of these obstacles, which need attention immediately? Which are a lower priority and can be attended to over time? What are some ways around the highest priority obstacle?
10. What are opportunities to take better care of yourself and energize/impassion yourself that you are currently not making the most or anything of? Which could you begin to take advantage of today? This week? This month? List three such opportunities/activities you will take advantage of in the next 90 days.
So there you have it. As you'll see, I didn't even bother to answer questions #9 & 10, because I had my epiphany at #8 – What obstacles are in the way of eating healthfully and losing weight? I honestly had the hardest time coming up with obstacles to my weight loss. When I found myself typing out "Need a sports bra"? That, my friends, was the moment. When it all 'clicked', as they say. Need a sports bra? THAT'S why I can't lose weight?
I saw for myself, once and for all, with crystal clarity, that there was nothing stopping me from losing weight. Not a single blessed thing. My own laziness? Lack of sports bra? I would not be that person. I would not be a person of miserable excuses and one more year of personal disappointment. There was no reason for it.
To be honest, I never really looked back after that. Not that it’s always been easy, but I lost that feeling that it would ever be impossible. I got my bike tuned up, I bought a sports bra, and I got on with it. And I knew that no matter what, there would never be an obstacle I couldn’t overcome.
