The OK Corral

I heard about a syndrome last weekend that has to do with people's ability to achieve great feats, it's called the OK Plateau, where we become content/satisfied with an 'ok' result and then just plateau there.  It was actually at Church and our pastor was applying this to our spiritual lives, although he was using an example of brain Olympics where people try to memorize accomplishments like reciting a whole deck of randomly ordered cards in 62 seconds (or something like that) and how these people don't have photographic memories and they aren't savants, but they can accomplish magnificent feats by pushing past the OK Plateau. He said it doesn't take super Christians to become more righteous, the key is being able to Do Hard Things, pushing past the 'just ok' spirituality (he wasn't referring to the book I linked, but too funny I have this book on my shelf, been wanting to read it for a few years, just haven't got around yet).

Since this principle happens in all areas of life it actually hit me on the head that this is where I am at with my  weight too.  Worse than a plateau, I feel like I am 'corraled' into my ok-ness, like I'm trapped by the same lack of motivation I had before my big gain and big loss.The whole reason I had the will power to drop 28 lbs was huge health factors, the expense of plus sized clothes, the big lack of energy, and giant chasms it created in my self-confidence, but even after some hiccups in ALL motivation, and gaining 8-12 lbs back (it keeps fluctuating the last 8 months), the same motivators no longer exist.  I know if I completely slack off they will come back, so I have that motivation to maintain, I'm at a pretty good consistent calorie and activity level, but I've become ok with 'just healthy/energetic/attractive enough'.

Even with new tools, like Lose It, participating in weekly motivators to commit to one healthy change for just a week, daily commitment to daily yoga & weights, I just can't get motivated to try the necessary amount of harder.  My calorie allowance is only 50-250 per day higher than the allowance I had when I really shed the pounds.  My exercise amount for the week is only 30-70 minutes less than the height of my fitness.  I just can't find the reasons to try that much more for so much less. And it makes me feel like I'll be trapped at this weight forever.

The other thing about 'ok' in weight is that eventually it is healthiest to be ok with your weight.  Unlike spirituality, there is such a thing as pushing yourself too far, having a focus and effort on your weight that is unhealthy.  I know that I'm no where near danger of going too far, but, what if I'm not THAT far off...what if it is ok to be just shy of this weight?  BMI is not a completely reliable tool because it doesn't account for my thicker bones and the weights I do that add to my muscle mass.  Size is not much better, as height has a lot to do with how you look at a size.  So, what do I use to tell me I need to break free of this corral, or be content with how much I have tamed my health?

Of course, the only reliable gauge is God. Right now, I'm pretty sure he wants me to value my body a little more than I do right now. Well then....that means *deep sigh* it's time to move on to doing hard things.