
I was in the bathroom at the airport, on the way to get my mohawk color changed. Hazel (my dog) was with me.
Everything was going great. She was obeying her commands, she was well-behaved, and she was getting lots of compliments. I felt proud of her AND proud of myself for training her.
Assuming she would continue to behave, I put her in her down-stay, then placed her leash on the counter for a few seconds to wash my hands.
Suddenly, she got up, grabbed her own leash in her mouth, and bolted out of the bathroom.
“Hazel!!” I shouted as I raced after her with wet hands and my bag flailing behind me.
I kept calling her, but instead of returning to me, she paced back and forth, almost daring me to try and catch her, as if we were playing a game of tag and I was “it.”
When commanding her to come didn’t work, I squatted down, opened my arms, and said “Come here!” in an encouraging voice.
She didn’t buy that for one second.
EVERYONE had stopped to stare and laugh as they watched her continue to evade me, still holding her own leash in her mouth.
I was sweating by that point, and SO mad I could feel my face turning red (and I am NOT someone whose face turns red!).
“I can’t get this dog. I can’t get this dog,” I kept thinking. “What if I can’t get her back??”
Finally she stopped pacing and ended up near some random guy.
“Can you grab her? Grab her,” I mouthed to him.
He reached down and grabbed onto her harness, ending her little game.
As I walked over to collect her, it was everything I could do to keep my cool.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if the humiliation I felt as I struggled to catch her (with all those people watching and laughing) is how some of my Rebels feel when they decide to “take a break” from their Code Red eating for “just one meal,” only to lose control, and then get on the scale the next day and see a five pound weight jump.
Or maybe they’re doing amazing, and then someone brings a plate of brownies into the house. They eat every single one and don’t understand “what got into them.”
Whether it’s letting your guard down with a well-trained dog or letting your guard down with your food boundaries, there are consequences when you get complacent.
And they ain’t pretty!
I got complacent with Hazel because she was doing so good up until that time.
And you might be doing so good on your Code Red weight loss that you think it won’t hurt to “take the day off” for Thanksgiving, or that office Christmas party, or whatever it is.
Or you think it’ll “be fine” to accept the plate of frosted Christmas sugar cookies your neighbor drops off and leave them sitting on the counter.
But as I was reminded yesterday, one slip-up is all it takes to throw you for a loop.
Listen, you’ve come this far.
Don’t throw it all away just because you’re doing “so good.”
KEEP doing “so good.”
I’ll be buckling down on my training with Hazel, because clearly, she still needs it!!
Instead of getting complacent, buckle down on weight loss mode, stick to your food boundaries, and get your weight off.
If you already HAVE gone off the rails, then pummeling yourself over it just drains your time and energy.
I’m not saying that to make you feel bad.
I’m saying it because it’s true.
If you slipped up, STOP, then do what you know is the right thing to do.
Learn something from what you did, and use to help you stop repeating that choice.
You’ve spent enough time “losing weight.” Let’s get you off that mountain for good!
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