Last May I was overweight and hypertensive, and I was unhappy about needing medication for a preventable cardiac risk. As serendipity would have it, I met a nutritionist while on a writing assignment for an outdoor magazine, and she recommended the book, 100 DAYS TO WEIGHT LOSS by Linda Spangle.
Two-hundred and twenty-eight days later, I’m twenty pounds lighter, my BMI is under 25, my blood pressure is back to normal without medication, and I’ve learned that there are many similarities to losing weight and writing a novel, most notably – persistence.
Spangle writes that people typically give up on a plan for diet and exercise after only three or four weeks – because life gets in the way. While I am constitutionally incapable of not writing regularly, I can lose track of my novel under all the other writing tasks on my desk.
Sometimes, I put writing for broadcasts, columns, and clients ahead of my book. Sure, some of these tasks come with deadlines and a paycheck, and there are days (okay, weeks), when the prospect of ever seeing my novel complete (let alone in print) seems bleak. This kind of thinking can be a self-fulfilling prescription for failure – just like the defeatist thinking I used back when I’d punish myself for straying from a strict diet with a dish of ice cream by finishing off the pint.
The first time I worked my way through the 100 DAYS of motivational exercises, I committed to “just one more day” every day – even on days I wanted to give up and eat an entire bag of chips. By the time I hit Day 100, I’d lost over ten pounds. So I started over, and did the exercises again. I’m now going through the book for the third time – not because I need to lose any more weight, but because I can apply these same lessons to helping me finish drafting Ellen, a novel I’ve been working on longer than I like to admit.
I have a greater understanding now that some days will be better than others. Some days I will write well; other days, not so much. Some days I’ll want to quit, and I’ll even welcome unplanned life events (a leaky roof, a lost dog, an unexpected visitor) as an excuse to skip writing, just as I used to welcome a dinner party as an excuse from self-control.
What I’ve learned in the last thirty-three weeks of weight loss is that I can not only tackle a difficult task by working at it day after day, I can succeed – as long as I don’t give up.
What strange places have you found motivation to keep writing?
Deborah Lee Luskin is a novelist, essayist and educator. She lives in southern Vermont and can be found on the web at www.deborahleeluskin.com
Hello, ussually have a few comments per year. I must comment though. Weight was not a problem, my parents were poor (substance abuse). When the age came when ample money was every where. I needed weight to contend with deviators. Beer, Steak, 4 – 10 per week. Bulked up real good lazy, tired, sweat when i ate. That was it. I needed a diet, or risk heart failure Please believe me the only reciepe for real weightloss. Skiing treadmill. Huhuh, that one with the arm movements. Now im in great shape just look at me. Oh, facebook Jake Prosser, the one in edmonton, with the fur hat.
Thank you.
Jake,
Thanks for taking a moment to comment – and congratulations on your regimen and health. Are you also a writer? Does the skiing treadmill help you come up with words?
Best, Deborah.
Congratulations, Deborah! That’s a truly inspirational story–and you’re so right. Persistence is everything. The hardest part is believing in your own worth enough to keep at it.
Holly,
Yes, “believing in your own worth enough to keep at it.” That about says it all!
Thanks so much, Deborah.
I will have to look into the book that inspired you. I could use some weight loss.
The strangest place I have found inspiration is in failure. I also agree with Holly, sometimes it is hard in believing it is worth keeping at it.
startingsarah,
Thomas Edison succeeded in inventing so many useful things because he tinkered with so many things that didn’t work – and learned from them. The only real failure is giving up.
Best, Deborah.
I can totally relate to this surprisingly obvious comparison. Having started this year simultaneously challenging myself to start writing my first blog AND attempt weight loss. Six weeks in I am shocked at how much time I have found to do both thing, having made a commitment to both tasks (each of which is rewarding in its own ways and therefore worth the ‘persistence’ you talk of), I am becoming aware of the importance of ‘creating time’ for each e.g. getting up an hour earlier to get to the gym, means freer evenings to devote to writing. Also breaking conventions to fit things in e.g. I can writie anywhere, not just at my desk and my 40min commute each way, is the perfect otherwise dead-time to getting my thoughts down on my phone ready to jump into half formed when I get home.
I agree that there are low days, although I find the exercise low days easier to deal with than the writing low days. At least with exercise I feel like I am doing something (which is better than nothing), while low writing days can feel like a waste – having said that I have recently gone back to some earlier disregarded writing and embraced it with a fresh eye – although this isn’t always the case.
Thanks for the great insights!
kx
Wow – “exercise low days easier to deal with than the writing low days.” I have to digest that one. I always write, and I always mean to exercise . . . and exercising always adjusts my chemistry, but . . . Thanks so much for this new perspective. And good luck! Deborah.
I’m not sure I expressed this correctly. What I was trying to say was that: I care much more about writing than exercise, so when I have a low writing days – lacking focus or inspiration, it hits me harder on a more emotional level. Having a slow writing days hits my confidence and makes it harder to start again the next day. A slow exercise day I care less about, but at least I feel it is still having a positive effect. Perhaps I need to change my mindset to believe that any writing even not my best is also a positive thing. It comes down to self-belive in the end – I haven’t got much in my writing yet, but I’ working on it!
Thanks for this clarification. It has helped me realize that when all else fails, writing (pen on paper) is the best exercise I can do to find my center.
It’s all practice and perseverance. You can do it!
Deborah.
Timely post, Deborah. I always seem to hit a wall at about a 2-month mark and am struggling with weight at the moment. Determined to keep focusing/comparing on weight/diet/running/writing and see where I am by the end of the year. Thanks for this!
“Just one more day . . .” It’s a good mantra. (As is, “one more word/sentence/paragraph and/or one more walk around the block.)
Thanks, Lisa.
Best, Deborah.
I love this. It’s great for motivation for writing and my fitness journey. I will keep this in mind.
Kella,
Glad you found this post inspiring. Thanks for writing – and good luck! -Deborah.
This is such a great comparison. And I truly think so many people can relate to what you’ve gone through. Self-determination is key, but it sure is difficult! Congrats on your successes and looking forward to your novel.
I started a weight loss journey last April and I found that writing about it really added to my experience. I have been doing nutritional cleanses and the maintenance that follows since then and the idea of cleansing the body has led to tons of writing opportunities….cleansing the body, cleansing the mind, cleansing the soul…. So, I completely agree and see the link between the 2, great post!
Reblogged this on sukmaniezz.
Congratulations! I really relate to your post. This books sounds great – I’ll have to check it out! (Also – looking forward to your book one day as well 🙂
Thanks for your comments – and good luck!
Deborah.
Thanks for the boost! I’ve done the weight loss, now it’s time to really tackle the book!
Same principles apply: stick with it!
Thanks for your comment.
Deborah.
Such a find on a rainy morning here in New Hampshire! I am leaving my day job after 23 years on Friday to write my second novel and lose my last 10 pounds. I want to reach the <25 "sweet spot". I have only two goals for this next year: Lose the 10 pounds and finish writing and then publishing "Francesca's Foundlings".
I am going to buy your book as soon as I send this. I consider finding this blog today as a sign my transition to full-time writing is being blessed.
Kathleen,
So glad to brighten a rainy day. And congratulations on your new adventure. I’m sure you’ll be successful if you just stick with it!
Best, Deborah.
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