{"id":110,"date":"2006-11-03T11:37:59","date_gmt":"2006-11-03T16:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silkentent.com\/Trees\/?p=110"},"modified":"2008-11-06T09:39:00","modified_gmt":"2008-11-06T13:39:00","slug":"chug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.silkentent.com\/Trees\/?p=110","title":{"rendered":"Chug"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 2, 2006
\nFriday<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Victoria Chang\u00c2\u00a0was 34 when\u00c2\u00a0she won a competition sponsored by Southern Illinois University Press that led to the publication of her first book of poems, Circle<\/em>. She told Poets & Writers <\/em>that she spent ten years writing the book and entered more than 30 contests before finding success. She recalled that an editor at a writers’ conference said that “talent, luck, and chug (persistence) are the three traits that can lead to success in publishing.”<\/p>\n

Those are three traits that can lead to success in anything, I think. When it comes to weight loss, I know I have the talent. That is, I know a lot about nutrition and meal planning. I know the importance of exercise and the need for balance in these endeavors. I also have a great deal of luck. I can afford high quality foods, I have no allergies or other medical problems that can complicate meal preparation, and I don’t have to cook for a family nor look after others’ dietary needs. I have time and opportunity to exercise.<\/p>\n

What I lack is the Chug.<\/p>\n

Today I’m trying something new. I used to look at the total number of pounds I wanted to lose (more than 50), and I kept setting dates by which I wanted to lose them \u00e2\u20ac\u201d my birthday, the beginning of summer, the beginning of a new calendar year. And I kept moving toward those dates with little progress, so that it became impossible to get even close.<\/p>\n

The other day I mentioned the wedding I am going to on December 30. I’ve decided to keep that date as a goal, and to plan to be under 200 pounds on that day. That means I have to lose 2.3 pounds a week. That’s doable. (The fact that I have never done that for more than two weeks in a row is beside the point.)<\/p>\n

I like the little turtle crawling along the bar. I have some history with the image of a turtle crossing a road \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I once made a companion get out of the car and help a turtle that had started into our path. I can still see its legs continuing to move, move, move, as my friend carried it to the other side.<\/p>\n

Move.<\/p>\n

Chug.<\/p>\n

Get there.<\/p>\n

\"Weight<\/p>\n

To be included on the notify list, e-mail me:
\nmargaretdeangelis [at] gmail [dot] com (replace the brackets with @ and a period)<\/em><\/p>\n


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