The AHA Moment is a Myth

Yes it's true. At least for me. If an AHA moment were enough, I'd have always been 130 pounds and fit and toned. The truth is, I have had many an AHA moment. AHA! I should lose weight! AHA! I should exercise more. AHA! I should lose 30 pounds. Then...wait for it...nothing happened. Oh, sure, I was doing a few things every now and then. Dabbled in tracking my food. Went for some walks with my sweet, aging dog who loved her walks but could only go about 8 blocks, very slowly by then. Went to the occasional class at the Y. I had even lost five pounds on Weight Watchers--five years ago.

In my 30s I was a dedicated runner, running 3-4 times each week, and participating in 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and even three marathons. But after that tapered off, I didn't have a consistent replacement and the pounds crept on. I weighed more than I ever had.

And AHA moment after AHA moment whizzed by.

The new year. When another item of clothing didn't fit anymore. When I was with friends who looked great. When I started staying in to avoid those situations. And on and on. Eight months after I started this blog with my friend Tracy (who started one, too), not much had happened.

And this was not for lack of available time. I work from home, so I had plenty of opportunity to be in control of my food and exercise. Oh, but I have a meeting, will do it later, will start tomorrow, can't afford it, it's cold/hot outside. Geez. How pathetic.     

Then, a few pounds came of as they do in the summer when I'm doing lots of work in the garden. Yay! But the day things changed was an ordinary day. I can't event tell you what day it was. No bells were ringing, no choirs singing. No big plan to "finally do something." No AHA moment.

The phone rang. And I went for a bike ride. Details in the next post: Do One Thing.

Here's to making the next decade into...Ten Good Years!

Here's the list of upcoming posts:  

• Do One Thing
• The Buddy System
• Have a Plan
• Knowledge is Power
• Oopsie...
• One Thing Leads to Another
• Going Public
• Enjoy Yourself
• Get a Life