If you always do what you've always done...

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten!

The first time I heard these words (credited to Anthony Robbins), I copied them down. They seemed so logical!

Brilliant!

But then comes the big stumbling block: Implied in the words is the fact that I have to change something (maybe even some things) to get a different end result... And (for me) change is often hard! Hard and uncomfortable...

One of the main changes I have been struggling with for the past 4 or 5 years involves changing how I eat and exercise, attempting to control my blood sugar levels through eating the "right" foods (and not the "wrong" ones) For type 2 diabetics - the "right" foods are low in carbohydrates; the "wrong" foods are high in carbs. More specifically, to stop eating white bread, white flour, white rice, sugar. Switch to whole wheat and whole grain bread and pasta. Add fiber, add vegetables, add exercise. Walk 10,000 steps a day (approximately 45 minutes of brisk walking).

In the panic of being diagnosed as diabetic, I attempted to do all that - and my body "rewarded" me - I lost about 10 pounds and moved from "diabetic" to "pre-diabetic" (slightly higher than normal)...















I seemed to be managing really well. I read books about diet and change... and for several years I seemed to have things under control...

But then I gave up - well, not totally, but partly. I reached a period when my efforts didn't seem to be making any difference - my blood sugar levels rose again. So I got tired of restricting myself so much ...

I've taken two steps forward and one step back! And now I'm trying to motivate myself to move forward again!

As I wonder how to get back on track, what might motivate me to make that extra effort and move forward again - maybe I need to look at the situation a little differently... Perhaps instead of asking why I can't change permanently, I need to accept the fact that this journey sometimes involves going back a step or two - but then we need to move on!

Maybe I need to appreciate what I have succeeded in doing for 4 years or so, instead of berating myself about giving up - and think about where I would be (on medication, probably) if I hadn't taken those 2 steps forward in the first place.