Failures Make Success SOOOO Much Sweeter :)

I had a really rough month from the middle of April until about a week ago, I felt like I couldn't lose and I was hungry all the time.  I started lifting and "yogging" with a couch to 5k program and again still not losing.  Needless to say, I was starting to feel like a weight loss surgery failure.  Was all my hard work for naught?  Was I doing something wrong?  What could I do differently?  After a few more days spent frustrated, I decided to use the tools I had in front of me.  I called my nutritionist and she told me to stop eating the calories I earned from working out.  Well that has done the trick for me in the last 10 days.

To my complete and utter astonishment when I tried on my wedding dress this weekend- it fit!  Last month I had inches to go before the zipper would zip up. And this weekend it zipped up no problem!  Let me tell you, with the sense of failure I'd been carrying around with me it was like a 1,000 pound weight was lifted off my shoulders when I heard that zipper go up.  It was validation for me - I was doing things right.  My hard work is paying off in both inches and some pounds right now (I am still losing weight it's just much slower than before)!  

I won't lie the losing inches thing was a hard idea for my to come to terms with, but after fitting into my gown - I feel like I've got to appreciate this as a victory.  After a month of "failure" this "victory" just gave me a renewed sense of empowerment for the journey I've started.  Just like in every other aspect of life, you've got to take the good with the bad - otherwise, you can't appreciate the victories as they come in.  It was a great lesson to learn this week.  :)

When all else fails, reach out - there is a support system out there for you, no matter your situation. And never forget the failures teach you more about yourself then the successes do - who you are is determined by how you react to them.