Weightloss is Like A Concert

Weightloss is Like a Concert

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing the band Bush live. That crosses off one of my bands that I always wanted to see in High School and never got a chance to. In the hustle and bustle of the show, I had an epiphany.

Weightloss is like a concert...

1. The Beginning

• They let you into the concert. Most of the time for me it's general admission. We run from the door to the closest to the stage we can get and scope out our spots. Quickly we figure out where everyone is going to stand and then we send someone for drinks.
• This is like you diet. You start off all gung ho and ready to see this thing through to the end. You get all your friends to join you, possibly even your husband. The group of you decide how you're going to get it done and then you make plans. Meal plans, workout plans, motivation plans. What have you. The group of you are ready!

2. The Opening Band

• Let's face it – unless you're ::cough:: Brantley Gilbert ::cough:: 99.9% of all opening bands are that for a reason. They aren't that great. However, they serve a purpose. They get you ready to see the main event. You get your feet wet with clapping and singing along. Hopefully they do a cover so that you know at least one of their songs and you can sing along with that and take pictures with your friends
• On you're diet, that first week just plain sucks! You're hungry and grouchy and you're not sure if you're gonna make it after the first few days. All you can do is sit and think of the things you can't have, but after that first week, the hunger pains go away. That first weigh in gets your motivation going and you brag to everyone about how well it's going. You're jazzed for the rest of your journey.

3. The Main Concert

• At this point, you've been keeping your spot near the stage for at least a couple of hours. You've turned your head to the side and are joking with your friends when some douchebag and his girlfriend elbow their way up and promptly get in front of you, blocking your awesome view. If you're short like me, you just talk very loudly, making snide remarks and let them know that you really don't appreciate it. After all, you've been the person holding up your section of gate and really, you got their on time. It's incredibly rude. They're trying to de-rail your enjoyment. Even when the band takes the stage, it still irritates you a bit. Especially when the douchebag leans back into your personal space to get a picture of his girlfriend with the lead singer in the background. Really?
• While you start out and keep on your diet pretty religiously, there's going to be something that's going to trip you up. You'll have a week that's just plain bad. Maybe you had too much sodium and it caused you to retain water. Maybe there were food choices that you had to make that weren't good and it just sorta happened that way. Those unforeseen circumstances are that douchebag and his girlfriend.

4. The Home Stretch

• At this point, people that were with you in the beginning ready to 'rock out' have gotten hot. They think they're about to pass out and their legs, feet, and back hurt. They've rocked as much as they can and they're beginning to drop out. It brings you closer to the stage and the disappointment you were feeling when douchebag and his girlfriend cut in front of you goes away. You're singing along, clapping your hands, taking pictures with your cell phone, gushing to your friend about how HOT the lead singer is, just flat out enjoying yourself. Then the song that EVERYONE knows comes along and you all sing as if you're in a sorority together and we're all having a great time!
• It's the same with what's now become your lifestyle change. Other people have dropped out and moved on. But if you've kept up with it and so have just a few of your friends, you're all congratulating other. It's a sister hood, each of you know just what the other needs to do to lose weight that week. You keep each other on track with your water and calorie check each other now and again. You start talking about the sizes that you've dropped and the pictures that you take now and you realize how much better you look. You're ready for the home stretch.

5. The End

• As you're leaving the concert, you're yelling because you can no longer hear each other. The smile on your face and the memories you've made are amazing. You talk about how you need to grab the band's cd's out of their cases and stick them on your iTunes. You're so excited and happy you made the journey even though that earlier douchebag threatened your good time.
• This is how I hope the end of my weightloss journey is. I'm smiling and the memories I have are amazing. I will be so happy that I finally made it and even happier that I began the journey.

In closing, the concert we went to was freakin' amazing! I hope that when I'm 46, I look as good as Gavin Rossdale does. I'm so happy that I made the memories I did and I wouldn't give anything for them – ever. That's the way I feel about this journey. The road is hard and long, but the memories I'm making I will take with me forever!

I tend to excel at getting my front row's or close to front row's at General Admission concerts because I have my eyes on the prize. I'll do the same with this.

Leaving you with pictures I've gotten of Gavin Rossdale and Brantley Gilbert.