Birdie, Par, Bogey

My son plays golf in college, and I am so proud of him. I was at one of his tournaments this summer, and my personal fitness coach (my daughter), forced me to walk all 18 holes. It was in the 90’s, and I complained most of the time. I saw people running golf carts up and down the big hills that I had to climb. I really wanted a golf cart. My son carried his clubs and played all 18 holes while loving every minute of it. I, on the other hand, walked the hilly 18 holes without carrying anything, and I was pooped out by the end of the day. But I gained a sense of accomplishment after I walked all 18 holes in the heat.

As I watched my son golf I started thinking how golf or any sport is like losing weight. Here are some of the similarities that I found:

When you golf you have to practice consistently. You cannot decide to quit for a while and then expect to jump back in and win a tournament. It is easier to get in the habit of eating right and exercising than to yo-yo diet and exercise sparingly. Yes, you might have some bad days, just like you might have a bad 18 holes in golf one day, but the most important part is being consistent. Don’t the let bad days outnumber the good days.  

It is easy to get frustrated when playing golf. You have to have patience and you need to remain focused to produce a positive outcome. While you might get frustrated over one hole in golf or one bad weigh in on your weight loss journey, you cannot let these frustrations derail your overall progress. When you let your frustrations cause you to lose focus on the bigger picture you start to give in to little temptations such as eating an extra cupcake because you already ate bad that day so you might as well. While an extra cupcake is not going to cause you to gain a pound right then and there, it can cause you to become more frustrated, which only leads to a pattern of unhealthy choices because you lose focus on your end goal.

My son has a golf coach that supports him at every tournament. When you are losing weight it helps to have a “coach” that you can lean on for support. Your coach can be your sister, your best friend, or even a coworker. You might be surprised at where you find your support from, but is important that you find support from someone you can contact on a regular basis. A coach holds his/her players accountable, but a coach also is there to offer advice. Everyone needs someone that can be their coach.

In golf, some holes you bogey (+1) and some holes you birdie (-1). Just like with weight loss, some weeks you are going to lose weight and some weeks you are going to gain weight. You might do everything right and end up par for the week (not losing or gaining), but you have to accept this and move on. If you are experiencing several weeks in a row of gaining or not losing any weight you should take a step back, examine what you are actually eating and how much or how little you are exercising, find areas in which you can improve, and refocus your efforts keeping this all in mind.  

Golf takes commitment and focus. The same goes for living a healthy lifestyle. We have to be committed and stay focused on our goals. My son never played golf until he was a freshman in High School. He dedicated himself to practicing almost every day. Some of his friends had been playing golf since they could pick up a golf club, but his determination and focus helped him compete with the same kids that had years of practice under their belts. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting your journey or if you have been trying to lose weight for the last 10 years. We are all in this together. Some weeks we might gain a pound, some weeks we might lose three pounds, either way, we are a team. We can support each other, and we can learn from each other. We all have similar goals, and we all want to be the healthiest versions of ourselves.

Let’s go Team!

Julie