Don't despair....

For those of you who are finding the quest to lose 30ish lbs to be too long, to arduous, too depressing, too unattainable, please don't despair. I know my path seems too good to be true. I still get asked what I did - and people are not satisfied with "diet and exercise" as an answer. I didn't have any set backs, I didn't cheat, I didn't backslide and I've been far more successful than I ever thought possible. I have a six-pack! I mean, it's a pretty weeny six pack, but it is there. I must be very annoying - posting all my after shots and story after story of people telling me how I'm an inspiration.

But here's the thing. I didn't really even try until Alex was four and a half. That's a HUGE difference between me and those of you with tiny kids. And I have a low-stress flexible job, as well as a husband who is fitness-obsessed and who encourages me to take time for myself to exercise. This was not really always the case. I mean, he would say, "fine, go" in a kind of annoyed voice, which he thought was being supportive. But now he's truly supportive. We're both far less overwhelmed by our children than in years past. And I didn't get one single sinus infection or other out-for-the-count illness since I started in January. This is unheard of for me and extremely lucky. Those sinus infections wipe me out for weeks at a time. There were many cases in the past few years where I would make a bit of an exercise effort, would get derailed by a sinus infection and would then just think that focusing on diet and exercise was just out of my emotional reach.

I also think I picked really good diet and exercise plans. WW has an excellent system for determining amount. I already had a very strong sense of nutrition and cooking, and I chose very effective workouts. Stair-climbing, jogging, cardio-sculpt are all really super-effective muscle-toning and calorie-burning activities.

And I have written before about my support network. Fantastic! I would never have done the stairs every day without Abigail. And I would never have made it through the first few months without Jennifer. Knowing that she had been successful and asking her constant questions was really extremely helpful to me as I readjusted my mindset.

You do not need to go at my pace or achieve my "better than when I was a teenager" results. I mean, it's nice and all but it's not necessary. You guys can all do this. Do not let a setback derail you. I'm so impressed with your progress so far. Everyone is in such a better place emotionally. It is possible and it is worth it - at whatever pace you find reasonable.