At this point in the weight loss cycle, I’ve been through denial, more or less hit bottom (or top, if you’re looking at a graph of pounds) and started the rebound. One or two small successes generally get me on the road and then that warm, fuzzy inspired feeling takes hold.

This is the jazzed up phase. Generally during this period I get motivated and do one or more of the following: join a gym, sign up for some sort of workout class, join Weight Watchers, work out some sort of accountability system with a friend, and/or spend hours creating a complicated spreadsheet to track calories, exercise and pounds. This latter item, by the way, will be used exactly twice.

When I see people jogging on the side of the road, I feel a nice little nudge that it’s time for me to get my shoes on and get moving, too [as opposed to the previous stage, when I feel the desire to hurl a can of double chocolate frosting out the window at them]. I invest in new workout clothes, new shoes, sports bras, etc. I stock up on audio books for the long afternoons walking or jogging.

When I do exercise, I feel the endorphin rush. After exercise, I delight in my sore muscles. I track my Weight Watchers points religiously and am not too hard on myself when I go over the allotment. Each day I find it’s a little easier to make healthy choices and pass up on all those vices that were weighing me down during the denial phase.

When I’m inspired, I do not focus on the negatives of being overweight. I don’t beat myself up for being fat, or lie awake at night listening to the clogs build in my arteries. Instead, I focus on remembering times when I was healthier, I think about weight loss achievements from the past, I take a look at the race number from a couple of years ago with my fastest 5K time (36 minutes and change — all downhill, but who cares?). 

This is probably how I ought to be all the time — positively motivated, gentle on my flaws, always moving, making healthy choices…. If I could spend more time in this stage in general, I think I would be healthier both physically and emotionally. Wouldn’t we all?

Stayed tuned for the next stage in a few days. Don’t know about you, but I am PSYCHED!

[Cue the Rocky theme song….]

MJ Pullen

M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.