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On my recent vacation to Mexico, one of the girls I went with is a newly certified yogi. So that we didn’t feel insanely guilty about spending our days laying in hammocks while constantly eating, we started each morning with a yoga session. How basic, right? Doing yoga in the morning as an excuse to eat mass quantities of chips and guac? I fully expect Will’s next “Things Girls Do After Graduation” to be entitled “Early Morning Yoga.”
Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I must admit, I’m not very good at yoga. I’m not very flexible, I have no sense of balance, and I’m not super patient, so I struggle with closing my eyes and finding my heart center or my third eye or whatever the fuck I’m supposed to do to find my inner peace. But because the class was being taught by a friend and it was the only exercise I was doing each day, I tried really hard. I mean, I still wasn’t great – in fact, I’m relatively sure I resembled a drunk flamingo for the majority of the class – but I tried.
If you’ve ever done yoga, you know that most teachers share an intention for the practice or tell you to think of one on your own. On our last day in Mexico, Ericka, my yogi friend, shared that the intention for our practice was “one step at a time.” She put it this way: “The fastest way to get anywhere is one step at a time.”
During the savasana (my favorite part of yoga, when you lay there and basically take a 5-minute nap), I thought about Ericka’s words, and how they apply to this weight loss journey. So much of the weight loss process is focused on the end: the goal weight, the number you want to see on the scale when all is said and done. And while you hear over and over again that you should set small goals and celebrate small victories, how many of us actually do that? How many of us actually take weight loss one step at a time?
Not me. Sure, I spin some bullshit to my nutritionist and my doctor about having small goals, but if I’m honest, I’m as honed in on that final goal I’ve entered in MyFitnessPal as Maverick was on the MiG. I’m focused on my destination and none of the mile markers that I pass along the way matter. But as I laid there with Ericka rubbing my temples (can she just move to Boston and do that every night?), I started to think about why the one step at a time may be important. Sure, it’s part of moving forward toward the goal – we all know that logically, as much as we don’t necessarily employ it in the day-to-day. But I actually started thinking about how it’s also important to take one step at a time to make sure you aren’t walking backward. How many times have you lost five, ten or twenty pounds only to gain it back? And as those pounds crept back on, one at a time, how often did you say that it didn’t matter, because it’s only a pound – only one step in reverse? And then before you know it, you’re back where you started. You’ve moonwalked all the way to the start of the journey, and all because you weren’t paying attention to each step.
So maybe that’s truly why taking it one step at a time is significant: not only so that we can have small, measurable goals on our way to achieving that goal weight, but also to make sure we paying attention when those steps are going in the wrong direction.
Now if only I could master the downward dog..
Starting weight to Lose: 30 pounds
Week 1 Results: – 1.1 pounds
Week 2 Results: – 2.1 pounds
Week 3 Results: +0.4 pounds
Week 4 Results: – 0.2 pounds
Week 5 Results: – 0.2 pounds
Week 6 Results: – 0.1 pounds
Week 7 Results: -0.9 pounds
Week 8 Results: 0.0 pounds
Week 9 Results: -0.5 pounds
Week 10 Results: -0.6 pounds
Week 11 Results: 0.0 pounds
Week 12 Results: – 0.2 pounds
Week 13 Results: -0.1 pounds
Week 14 Results: No weigh in
Week 15 Results: – 2.3 pounds
Week 16 Results: +0.6 pounds
Week 17 Results: – 0.2 pounds
Week 18 Results: -0.1 pounds
Week 19 Results: 0.0 pounds
Week 20 Results: – 2.4 pounds
Week 21 Results: No weigh in
Week 21 Results: + 0.1 pounds
Remaining weight to lose: 20.1 pounds
If you want to follow along with me, friend me on MyFitnessPal or FitBit!
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Jenna Crowley
Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, documenting her love of all things cheese related, and hosting the new PGP podcast Don't Take It From Us. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.
@JennaLCrowley
@donttakeitfromus
Congrats on barely gaining anything during your vacation! I’m heading to an all inclusive resort next week and there isn’t a chance in hell that I’ll have your willpower when I’m offered all those free margs and burritos.
Header pic… you got me. Game recognize game.
I love your attitude and that it’s honest and humble. I go to yoga once a week and I’ve barely progressed past the beginner class. But I try to focus less on how well I’m doing and more on what my instructor is saying. It’s a huge stress reliever for me even if I don’t do it perfectly. Congrats on your constant progress!
Exactly! One day at a time!
This was a great post. I was 20 lbs lighter this time last year & struggling to get back into my old routine because it feels pointless. Thanks for the reminder that all the little, healthy choices will eventually add up again.
I do yoga class twice a week when I’m not on the ship. As a guy in the class it’s definitely intimidating since i can barely touch my toes.
I do yoga about 5 mornings a week but in my home. I’ve enjoyed the few classes I’ve attended, but they were all called ‘fitness yoga’ and were hard as hell with about a 50/50 gender ratio (at least to my eye, I’m not sure how they identified themselves).
This has been one of my favorite posts for this column. I recently started yoga and I’m seriously awful but I get a little better each week (in my head at least) and I also love lying in darkness and silence at the end. I love how you parallel small victories when losing weight to small increments when gaining weight. You’re an inspiration, keep it up!