That Infuriating, Ever-Unreachable Last Mile

Last weekend, I attended an alumni event at my alma mater, a small school in rural Georgia.

It was such a great experience to reconnect with my old(er) college friends, many of whom I haven\’t seen at all since we graduated!

Several of them asked me about my weight loss and health, having followed this little corner of the internet on and off the last year. I was really humbled and flattered that they\’d taken the time to keep up with it all, but more than that, it really caused me to reflect on my progress thus far.

As of today, I\’ve only lost about 10 lbs. since November of last year. Part of the reason for this is, now that I weigh a lot less, the amount of calories it takes to actually LOSE the weight is a lot less than it used to be. If I were to continue to lose weight at a more rapid pace, I would have to keep my caloric intake well under 2,000 calories per day, which is totally doable, I might add, but here I stand, wavering, unsure and uncommitted to seeing it through.

I\’ve made rash food choices in the last few weeks, some of which, I later found, contained oil or other ingredients I\’m supposed to avoid altogether. I\’ve been passionless and careless, and my healthy weight (that worthy goal I set before me) twiddles its thumbs helplessly while I make up my mind.

I think one of the things that happens on the way to a worthy goal is getting stuck in the endless, winding maze of \”the good.\”

Why wouldn\’t I be satisfied with my progress? I\’m 135 lbs. lighter than I was two years ago. I finally had to buy a new wardrobe to clothe this smaller body, and my health numbers are still fantastic. It\’s all really GOOD!

My goal, however, is to reach a normal Body Mass Index (BMI) at 210 lbs. It\’s the finish line of all that I\’ve been working toward. And in a year and four full months now, I\’ve failed to reach it, and the completion date seems to be getting farther and farther away.

Reaching my goal is \”the great.\”

You\’ve heard the saying before, \”don\’t sacrifice the great for the good.\”

I\’m pretty sure that\’s what I\’ve been doing, and I know it has to change.

How do you push through to reach your worthy goals?