100 day heart challenge journal

As we've learned, being too 'hung up' on the number on scales is not helpful in our overall health and goals. After all it is "just a number". But those numbers are part of the history of our lives. I know, for example, that the first time I weighed what I do today was when I was 8 months pregnant with twins. Not knowing I was carrying twins, I was horrified at the very number that I now am thrilled to see on my scales! It is now the number of success--of 10+ pounds lost, and more importantly, the direction I am going, the inches I've lost, and the habits I'm making.

It has made me realize once again that life has ups and downs and what we may be disappointed about in one season might be a success in another. A "number" that is good for one person may not be good for another. I look back to size 10 with longing and nastalgia; my friend who longs for a size 4 feels "fat" in her current size 8. For one person, the lower number on the scale and on the clothing lable is a healthier alternative and an huge achievement.

With that in mind, some of us on the program are starting to swap clothes; instead of "hand me downs" these clothes are "hand me ups"!. The size 12 one woman has now outgrown is a delightful "just right" size for me now and indicates a level of success I'd dreamed of achieving. I hope my size 14-16 clothes that now are getting baggy can be enjoyed by someone else who has reached that "number" she has hoped for.

We live in a world where we measure many things. It's nice to be involved in the current numbers of our Challenge program, but we're moving beyong numbers to intuitiviely listening to our bodies and our hearts--the ones that beat inside our chests, as well as the figurative ones of our souls--measuring improvement, new patterns, new friendships, new social interactions that involve foods, new recipes,new exercises, new perspectives. We are striving to "measure up" to our new perceptions of our better selves. Right now it's still somewhat about numbers, but that is slowly changing, just like our bodies are slowly changing. And we all like the changes we're experiencing!