The Travel Maven: The Myth of The Goal at the End of the Rainbow

Somewhere, over the rainbow, I'll be thin....

The word “Destination” is defined as “The place designated as the end (as of a race or journey).” Other definitions include “Goal, end” and my favorite, “The state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it.”

So do the words “diet” and “end” go together? HECK no, I certainly do not think so. I can “terminate” bad behavior, but the fight and struggle will never end. Just ask weight loss surgery patients. Just ask successful diet bloggers and authors. I will have to make dietary choices DAILY. Some days it will be very easy. Hooray! Occasionally I WILL have those “white knuckle; nail biting” temptations. Waaaa!

( ...psssst... one won't hurt!)

OH, and for the purists let me define the word “diet”. It is NOT totally about “restrictions” in this context. Our "diet" is simply WHAT we choose to eat on any given day. EVERYONE is on some kind of “diet” because everyone eats. (except the extreme anorexics or those who are on a fast for specific reasons). Settled? Okay… moving forward.

I have been talking to a friend at work. Some of the things we have been discussing are words like “Tomorrow” and “When I reach…” and “Just as soon as…”. always waiting for that perfect “jumping off” place, as if somehow the timing plays a part in success. I agree that you have to have your mind in the right place to proceed, but always having your mind geared towards “tomorrow” will never get you started. Along that same lines we often think, "As soon as I reach this weight..." or "When I get to a size ...", as if that is a marker to stop or take a break.

Yikes.

IF we are all on some kind of diet… and especially IF weight loss and better health is our goal ... then will the diet ever end?

Absolutely not. Certain restrictions might end, but we will certainly continue to eat SOMETHING. The sooner we adopt this entire process as a lifestyle change the better. As soon as we can say, “I WILL DO THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.” the better off we will be during the journey.

Actually watching the scale go down and the inches get smaller can be a lot of fun and a lot of motivation. But where does your mind go when that does not happen? How quickly do you freak out when you hit a “stall”? I think we sometimes freak out because we have a “goal / end” in mind and time is passing! We are scared we will give up and never reach our "goal".

SO........ What if there was no final goal and no final end?

What if you were eating the way you are eating every single day with the one sole purpose of just feeling better? What if food was just fuel and not entertainment?

I need to tape this to my mirror:

YOU ARE NOT DOING THIS TEMPORARILY TO ACHIEVE A GOAL.

YOU ARE DOING THIS FOREVER TO BE HEALTHY.

It has taken YEARS but I think I found that place, at least I hope I have. I just keep eating foods that are rich in nutrients and good for my body. Every single day I make the choice to practice good decisions (or NOT). I almost always have a strategy or plan in the back of my mind for saboteurs and get a lot of opportunities to practice them. For example, the other day a friend in Houston wanted me to taste this home-made bread that she brought back all the way from New York. It was made fresh the night before. It smelled divine! It had been slathered in butter and was soft and a beautiful golden brown. She was pretty adamant that I “try” it. I could see that it meant a lot to her. I had a choice to either get righteous and stand my ground .. “ NO! Bread shall never toucheth thy lips and be forever on thy hips!” …. Or, simply say (which I chose to do), “Well, thanks. I can’t eat the entire thing, but I will take a taste.” I pinched off a crumb, put it in my mouth, and said “Yum.. that IS good.” She left the room, I took the crumb out and put it in the trash. All done.

No “rejection”. No “derailment”. No “regret”. No “anquish”. No “fear”. Easy stuff… NO EXCUSES.

Yes, modify the diet and change the behavior….

….. but just so you know, your “diet” will NEVER end. Ever.

Never. It is FOR .. EV.... ER!!!