If you listened to this week’s episode of The Christian Nerd Podcast then you know that I lost our weight loss competition. Ron and I competed to see who could lose the most weight and I lost by .32%. Every time I think I’m over it, I see a commercial for Battlefront (the prize in our competition) or I see my running shoes, which could have carried me for just a few more miles.
Our competition wasn’t the only thing I lost. I also managed to lose 20.9 pounds over the 10 weeks. Even though I’m a loser, I’m still pretty proud of what I accomplished. As much weight as I lost, though, I’ve still got a lot further to go until I reach my goal.
My biggest concern, though, is that without the motivation of a competition I won’t be as committed to my goal.
I know that I’m too competitive and for the most part that isn’t a good thing. I’ve yelled at students while playing Risk, cussed at my friends while settling Catan and potentially lost sight of the purpose of summer camp while on the recreation field. However, for the past 10 weeks my competitive nature was my greatest ally.
I didn’t really care about the video game or the $60; I just wanted to win. That desire to win pushed me to count my calories and go running more than I ever have before. Now that there isn’t a foe to vanquish I might just start drinking ranch dressing and living a completely sedentary lifestyle.
That may be a bit of an overstatement but, even this week, I haven’t been as committed to counting calories and exercising. That’s sort of been by design to give myself a little breather. But I don’t want my little breather to turn into 20.9 pounds. It took 10 weeks to lose that weight and, with Thanksgiving coming up, it could only take 10 days to put it back on.
In any endeavor, what helps you stay motivated?
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