DietBet Round 1 – Victory!

I’m feeling like a winner. I’ve done DietBet a lot of times, because staying healthy, even for the motivated, can get hard when life gets in the way. Every time I do it, it feels a little bit different. I learn some new things about myself or just derive different motivation from it. Here’s the biggest thing I’ve learned after winning round one of my DietBet in this 6 month challenge:

Slow and steady might be my style, and nothing means “the end of the world.” In the past, only 4 week DietBet challenges were available. These challenges push you to lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks. Yes, this is a healthy amount to lose and totally doable. But, in the last DietBet, I found myself restricting more than I was willing to admit. This restriction became apparent when, after it ended, I gorged on food because it was my birthday, I had to celebrate, and for several other BS reasons after those celebratory reasons ran dry. I was back to where I started, and worse, I had gained it all back and then some.

With this past month, I have not been perfect. I mean, come on, it’s Girl Scout Cookie season. However, because I have a longer time to lose weight (10% in 6 months) and I have less to lose in the first round (3% in 1 month, 6% by month 2, as opposed to 4% per month) I have just not stressed about it as much. I think, OK, if I have a cookie, I just have to make sure to Zumba. If I don’t have time to Zumba today, I can make it up by doing a little bit more working out tomorrow. And if I happened to cave and have a bagel, no freaking big deal. I can make up for it by having a healthy vegan stir fry for dinner.

(Remember – I’m a coach, too. So if you want me to organize a game for you, let me know!)

I haven’t allowed anything to be my nail in the coffin this go around. Even now, I had a slight influx after my victory, but I have chosen to recognize my progress on the long-term path and acknowledge to myself that when the next round comes along, I will probably be fine and make it in plenty of time. A celebratory cupcake and large sandwich for lunch on Friday didn’t take away from the healthy things I did on Saturday – eat tons of fruits & veggies and make a delicious cashew quinoa stir fry. The good days just need to outweigh the bad.

I’m hoping that this slower-paced and longer-lasting DietBet will allow me to keep off what I lose and adopt healthy and realistic habits I can continue long after the challenge is done in July. There will be a lot of real-life things that get in my way before that, including my birthday, my SO’s birthday, at least 4 weddings, and overindulgent holidays. I’m determined to enjoy them without allowing them to be my downfall. Don’t worry, there will be many more updates to come.