Setbacks Are... Ok

We've all had those days- especially on a weight loss journey.

You try and you try to eat right. Maybe throw in a workout or three. You're amped up when weigh-in day comes around. You know you gave your best...

But there are also those weigh-in days when you approach them with dread. You know you've had a couple rough days. Not as many workouts as you hoped. And today is the day to face the scale.

Today I had to face the scale. Not so much with dread but with definite hesitation. I had two rough days of eating. One was WAY over in points and one was just slightly over. And because of weather, I only got one workout in.

I made all kinds of excuses about why I did the overeating. Why I didn't do indoor workouts. Excuses don't make everything ok. They are an emotional Band-Aid to cover up the mistakes we make. The failures.

But wait. Are they really failures? I don't think so.

Don't stop reading. Hear me out...

FAILURE: lack of success, the omission of expected or required action, the action or state of not functioning.

Sometimes we feel like if we don't lose the weight, it feels like failure. BUT I'd like to suggest that when we KNOW we have made mistakes, it's a setback.

SETBACK: a reversal or check in progress.

Failure suggests a lack of success- as in a more permanent lack of success. A setback suggests a check in progress for this moment. This week. Or just this day.

So maybe you had a couple days of bad eating. Or not exercising for a week. It's a setback. A check in your progress. Don't let your setback become failure. Don't let it cause you to emotionally eat. Don't let it keep you from moving forward.

A setback is just that. A setback or check in progress.

We HAVE TO remember who we are and who we belong to!

We are a child of God. And He fearfully and wonderfully made us. (Ps 139:14) We have been chosen by Him. (Ps 33:12, 105:43; 1 Peter 2:9-10) He made us to be His.

He is forgiving of us and our sins. We should also be forgiving of ourselves. Of our setbacks. Learn from them. Let them go. And get back on track.

Get back to trusting Him. His plan. Get back to moving forward.

Don't allow the setbacks to determine who you are. Let them propel you forward to the future. They are just a check in the progress, not the big picture. Just one piece of the puzzle.

So you see. Setbacks are ok. Failure only happens when you allow the setbacks to change you and keep you from getting back on course.

Embrace the setbacks and learn from them.