I was talking to mom this weekend and everything I’ve been doing finally hit me. My ACTUAL goal. My actual goal is to create a lifestyle where I’m at a comfortable weight that I can manage, without giving up the things I love such as Thanksgiving food and Christmas food. I want to be able to eat out on the weekends. Mom says that while I’m trying to lose the weight I need to cut out some of the things I love but I know me. I know that if I cut out nachos completely from my life, I’m going to have nachos 3 times a week. I mean, I’m not good with ultimatums even when I’m the one setting them.

I need to change my lifestyle to fit my goals. I need to consume the 1300 calories, or however many MyFitnessPal gives me, every day that I can. Conserve those extra calories I burn at the gym and reallocate them on days that I want to go out to eat with my friends or family.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m not looking to diet. I’m looking to adjust my lifestyle to accommodate the body type and life I want to have. I want to adjust my eating habits. I want to give myself room to splurge when I’m with friends or in a bad/sad mood without feeling bad about myself.

Dieting seems to have all of these negative implications that come along with it. People who diet get to the weight they want to be but if they cannot maintain that diet, they will eventually put the weight back on. I want to avoid this completely! Maybe I don’t hit my goal weight this year. Maybe I eventually have to adjust my goal weight to something I can actually maintain. However, I can live life. I can be happy. That’s the ultimate life goal isn’t it? To be happy?