Thursday, September 9, 2010

Don't Wear Shoes You Can't Walk In!

Men, hang on, it's not only about shoes!

I was walking during lunch yesterday in downtown Chicago. I see women all the time wearing something like 4 inch heals that they can't even walk in! The shoes might be cute but you don't look cute wearing them when you can't even walk like a normal person wearing them!

Now, don't get me wrong. I will sometimes wear slightly uncomfortable shoes but only if I will be sitting most of the time (and I usually regret wearing them later!). And of course, there is that occasional funeral that your ex-boyfriend will be at and you want to look SO GOOD and wear shoes that are way too uncomfortable to make him jealous...sigh...I digress...

Anyway, while I was walking around noticing these people walking in their obviously uncomfortable shoes, it got me thinking. These shoes are a metaphor for life!

Let me explain. Many times (myself included), people will embark on weight loss journeys with plans that they aren't able to live with. People go on diets that are strict or restrict certain foods, (hello cabbage soup diet!). Yes, sometimes they lose the weight, but often times, they don't keep the weight off.

Why? Because they can't live with the plan for the rest of their life. They can't "walk in their shoes" forever!

The same analogy applies to workout plans. When my brother and I both lived at home, my brother would periodically say that he was going to start working out (again). And he would! For about three days he would go into the basement where there are some weights, or go to a friend's house and bust his butt with these weights. Then he would complain that he hurt himself. Without fail, every...single...time, he would stop after the three consecutive days and not think about it for at least another 6 months to 1 year!

And after all those months, he would, inevitably, say to me, "I'm going to start working out again." I would say to him, why don't you start off slower. Just do a few days out of the week or don't put so much weight on the bars that you are using. I want to encourage him and help him stick with the plan! But of course, my slightly older brother never listened to me and the cycle continued! He couldn't "walk in his shoes" forever either! It was too strict of a plan. He didn't ease into it!

For me, the right "shoe" is weight watchers. It works for me. Will it work for everyone? Well, I'm a believer that it can if you want it to. But it may not be the right plan for you. I like it because I don't feel deprived. I can eat what I want, just not so much of it. They encourage you to eat healthy, choose from filling foods, get a required amount of dairy in and eat a certain number of fruits and veggies. I never did all this before! *Any views or opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author (me) and do not necessarily represent those of weight watchers or any other company mentioned*

I also have a workout plan I can live with. I have a gym membership and some classes there that I love to go to. I can also workout outside when I need to (run, walk, whatever) and I also have some videos at home in case I don't feel like going anywhere. I have no excuse! I don't work out for 1-2 hours at a high intensity pace every single day. I alternate some high intensity days with low intensity days. I do this because I know I will burn out if I do too much all the time! You need to find a good balance.

And no one is ever perfect. Even if you find the right plan for you, every once in a while you will put on those shoes with the four inch heals and regret it later! But you can always put on your comfy flats as soon as you get home!

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9/09/2010

    We were just talking about Weight Watchers last night :) I think you make a very good point though about taking it slow and doing whats best for you. I'm going to check out a WW meeting and take it from there. Thanks for the advice/opinion

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  2. Yes we were Courtney! Actually I had this thought in my head during lunch yesterday (before I was talking to you). And of course, it wasn't really directed at you or anything! lol.

    I also was never a "preacher" of WW. I'm still not. I just know what worked for me!

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  3. You are so right, Amanda!!! Well said, girl. I love your shoe analogy.

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