It's too HARD!!!

I have a beautiful, intelligent, goofy niece.  She graduated high school and college with a perfect 4.0.  However, she is not the most life-smart person on the planet.  As a teenager, she asked which part of the bird a ham hock came from.  I'm assuming it had something to do with "chicken hawk" but no one really knows.

As a little girl, 2 years old or so, she was being potty trained.  Her Mom was in the hospital giving birth to her brother, so my brother was home alone with her.  She came out one morning with a diaper for Jim to put on her.  Jim said "Rebekah, go get your big girl panties."  Her response.  "It's too HARD!!!"

I think of this often in my life, whenever the "It's too hard!" whine comes into my head.  Like today.  The scale was up again today.  And the little girl started with "It's too HARD!" right from the get go.  It's too hard to follow Medifast and not lose weight.  It's too hard to not see the results I want when I am working.so.hard.  Right?

But let's get honest here. I mean, really honest, not the sort of Sue form of honesty.  I have not been 100% on program, even though my conscious mind wants to think so.  I have succumbed to the little bites, the extra pickle, the overdose of topping on my jello, the extra snack because it didn't affect my carb and calorie levels.  So, I have not really been following Medifast at all.  I guess I have been following Medislow.  And, again, the little girl whines "But it's too HARD!!!!"  Well, no, it isn't.  It is very simple.  Five little packets and 1 measured lean & green.  Appropriate fat. Water.  Movement.  Sleep.  There it is.  The program in a nutshell.

So I am silencing the little girl.  Just like my brother did, I sent her back for her big girl panties.  Because it isn't too hard.  I have done a lot harder things. I just make it too hard.

Today, I will not track my food.  I will work without a net, which really irritates the OCDness in my mind.  I will eat 5 packets, 1 measured L&G with the required fat, drink my water and leave the rest alone.  I don't need to taste Dad's ice cream when I am dishing it up.  They will make more.  I don't need to spray Reddi Whip on my finger after putting the correct amount on my jello.  I don't need to eat 3 snacks because I "have the room" on my tracker.  I will do this as written.  Period.  Regardless of the scale, I need to do this because I need to submit myself to the program as written -  if for no other reason, than for the structure and mindlessness of it.  Because I will always have to have a food plan. 

I have come so far over the past 6 1/2 years.  I maintained a 100+ lb loss for 2 years.  Then I gained back half of it.  But I didn't gain back all of it plus some.  I have been exercising willingly and joyfully for 5 years because I can. I have been a whole food Gestapo for 6 years.  I have instituted a lot of healthy changes in my life that have become habits of health.  So lets just get in and get this done already!  Stop fighting with it and just do it.  Be actually, really honest with myself not Sue honest. Sue honest never really worked anyway.