Things Change!

I once had a really fantastic hairdresser.  My hair was at its absolute best when I went to her.  I used to have to book the Saturday morning appointment with her 12 weeks in advance and she didn’t work evenings during the week.  She cut beautiful hair and she wasn’t that pricey…but she was about 45 minutes away from me (highway driving) and she was always behind and always slow.  Every six weeks I would give up 4 hours  on a Saturday morning to go and get what should have been a 15 minute hair cut.   Then my life changed and giving up half a Saturday for a trim became more trouble than it was worth.

 

I found a new hairdresser.  She was right on my way home, had a salon chair in a barber shop.  She cut alright hair (most of the time) and cost me $20 including a good tip.   She didn’t require an appointment, just a call a couple hours in advance.  It worked for me, it was on the way home, I could show up on a whim when I had time and it was inexpensive.  After several months of going to her she changed her policy and decided that she needed proper appointments at least a week in advance so that she could plan the rest of her life.    Then she raised her prices by 20%.  Several months after that she decided she would no longer take credit or debit, cash only.  Now, a barely average haircut required that I plan well in advance and remember to go to the bank and get cash.  It became more trouble than it was worth.

 

The reason I got to thinking about this is because I stopped going to the barely average one awhile ago and she actually called me last night to see how I was (obviously to see if I needed to make an appointment).  As much as she is a very nice woman and I liked chatting with her, things changed and the arrangement…relationship, if you will….evolved and no longer works for me.  It’s not mean or rude, it’s just the way it is.  As far as I’m concerned, if I have to make an appointment in advance and pay a goodly sum of money, I’m going somewhere that the haircut is guaranteed to be good.  What once meshed no longer does.

 

It’s the same in life and friendships and relationships.  I’ve quit Weight Watchers full stop now because the amount of exercise that I get and the way in which I eat no longer mesh with the program.  It’s not their fault, I’ve just evolved outside of the standard bell curve of people whom Weight Watchers is highly effective for.  I exercise at a very high intensity 4 times per week and in a month I’m going to start heavy lifting.  That exercise alone changes everything let alone that I choose not to eat processed food and I’m eating higher protein than is standard WW etiquette.  Weight Watchers is not meant for someone like me.  It’s not their fault, they were upfront with their plan and their ideals.  I choose to live outside of that program and that means that we no longer mesh.

 

It works in the reverse also.  In my previous post about my friend/coworker/boss who is coming over tomorrow night I mentioned that we’ve worked hard to keep our friendship in the face of trying times.  It’s not only that….it’s that we happen to have evolved seperately as women and now our paths cross in more ways than they don’t.   It would be silly for us not to take advantage of that current circumstance since, depending on how either of us chooses to continue to move and grow, it may not work 6 months or a year from now.

 

So, because of a phone call from my ex hair dresser last night, I have come to appreciate the value in recognizing when things change to the point that they no longer work for me and need to be revised….and in the reverse, recognizing potential new relationships or ideals or programs and allowing myself to accept change for the better.

 

Do you recognize and make changes to ensure that your life flows smoothly for you at whatever point you’re at?  Or do you keep things that may no longer work or fit because they are comfortable and/or you feel you owe it to it/them to try and keep things exactly like they were?  Which is harder?

 

PS.  I have a great hairdresser again, I’ll keep her until such time as it’s not working for me and then I’ll be on the hunt again…but here’s to hoping this one is a keeper!

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Shifting The Focus

Morning!  I am very excited to report that after an entire week of being very diligent about tracking and what I eat, and going to spinning 4 times in the WW week, that I am down a whole……0.2 pounds.  0.2?  Seriously?  Part of me realizes that this is completely fine and the fact that my clothes are fitting much better (a pair of pants and a skirt that I couldn’t wear 2 weeks ago now fit nicely) means that I may not be losing pounds but my body composition is changing.  That is good.  What is not good is paying over $50 each month to watch my body composition change.  So far I have paid $103.90 to lose 5.2 pounds…that’s $19.98/pound.  At the rate that I’m going, in order to achieve my goal weight of 165 pounds, it’s going to cost me another $123.87…and that’s IF my losing doesn’t slow.  (the hardboiled egg in my hand below is the equivilant of what I lost this week…kind of sad if you look at it like that!  LOL)

 

 

What I said yesterday about not really caring what the scale said is true….I actually thought that my weight would have been up so a loss is nice.  But I really feel like that’s not what it’s about for me anymore.  I truly needed the last two months of Weight Watchers to reset my portions, reset my definition of healthy foods and propel me back to the gym.  And it was worth every penny.  But the fact is that while I would really like to see a nice 165 on the scale, if I can get my body looking the way I want it and fitting into anything I choose, then I don’t much care what the number on the scale is.  That’s a difficult one to reconcile though.  That scale number is what I have been fixated on for the last 5 years.  And now I need a new way in which to measure my progress.  Looking in the mirror is So tonight I’m taking measurements.  Arms, legs, waist, hips.  I’m still going to stand on the scale once/week and log the measurement…but every two weeks I’m going to take my measurements.   I need them anyway for the next phase of my fitness plan so I figured I would just do it now to get a base idea, measure every couple of weeks and then in December when I start weight lifting I will know what’s normal for me and how to judge success.

 

Anyway, on to other things.  I went spinning last night…and watched a little girl, about 14 years old, come in with her mom to spinning for the first time.  The girl needs to grow about a foot in height and she’ll be well proportioned, she still had a little fluff on her that comes with puberty and being a kid.  The mom had quite a bit to lose and I was impressed that they came in together to try something new, the little girl looked a bit nervous.  The guy beside me and I set them up on their bikes so that the instructor could get the class started on time.  Aaaannndd….the mom made it less than 15 minutes and then actually left the class, left her daughter there to struggle on alone….and the girl did the whole class.  I was sitting right behind her so I could tell that she didn’t have the resistance dial figured out all the way so parts of it were much harder than it needed to be, but she powered through.  Her mother, on the other hand, was sitting in the massage chairs out in the lobby.  I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t take a couple minutes to give the little girl a big high five.  She rocked something brand new with no support from anyone and that is impressive and worthy of praise!

 

Tonight we’re going to do our monthly Costco shop (the list is long!) and when we get home and have had dinner, I plan to spend a little time laying on the sofa reading my book.  I was going to clean the house but I decided that I will listen to my body…my knee is squeaking a little and my body is tired and the carpets can wait another day to get vacuumed.

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Love List, October 20, 2011   

This morning I am grateful for:

coffee!

insecticidal soap

my iphone

grapes

surprises

Random Thoughts on a Wednesday

 

Random Thought #1 ~ I often feel like, if I write something down on a schedule, that it is then written in stone and if I don’t achieve it or do it, I’m a complete failure.  Schedules, once made, should never be revised.  There’s only “did it well” or “completely failed”.  Well…there was.  This time when I made my fitness schedule (because I loves me a longterm plan so I know what’s coming!) I did it knowing that I might change it.  And I have.  I have removed some gym dates because I already know that existing plans that I had forgotten about would mean I’d have to mark the day as a fail and that’s not fair to me.  Instead, I’m just changing the day!  I’ve completely deleted any reference to “WEIGHTS” that was on there because I have an even longer term plan that will take care of that (more on that at a later date).  So my random thought is this:  I feel far more like I’m setting myself up for success by allowing myself to revise and recreate my schedule than I would be if I had written the 2 month schedule and then refused to adjust it.  That is a personal victory! 

 

Random Thought #2 ~ I read this on this website and it really rang true for me.  I am adopting immediately!

 

“I never tell myself, no more food.  It’s so much easier to say, no more of that, but you can have as much as you want of this.”

 

Random Thought #3 ~ I need to figure out what my future goals are going to be as it relates to weight loss/maintenance and fitness.  I have less than 6 pounds (hopefully I’ll be even closer after tonight’s weigh-in)  to lose to get to my goal range (160-165).  I don’t want to lose anymore weight than that.  To be honest, I don’t even think that losing these 6 pounds is going to make that much of a difference.  Obviously I’ll feel successful and pleased with myself but aside from that, I need better goals.  One of my goals (for as long as I can remember….way back when it didn’t even seem like a remote option) is to do a spinning class in just a pair of shorts and my sports bra.  I realize I will never look completely svelte and fitness-model-toned, but if I can get a little jiggle off and a littel muscle on, I think I should be able to do it.   I’ll always have some excess around my waistline but that’s normal and…if you’re a woman….healthy and desireable.  So beyond the sports bra goal, I need to get some solid things to work towards.  Earlier this year I decided that I wanted to run a half marathon in July next year…and I still sort of do, but my exercise routine and future training plans do not mesh up with that goal, not at all.  So I need to decide if I’m going to scratch that goal.  I think so…..we’ll see.  Anyway, I’ll be giving some thought to some fitness and appearance goals in the next little while.  I will probably post them here.

 

Random Thought #4 ~ Tonight is my first back to back spinning class.  I went yesterday morning and now I’m going tonight.  I’ll have had a full 36 hours in between the two classes so I think it should be alright.  I was feeling all lazy-brain this morning and was trying to figure out excuses why I should take a pass on the class tonight….but no, I’m going, I don’t need an unplanned rest just yet!  Plus, maybe tomorrow I’ll be sick or something will come up and I won’t be able to go.  Then I’ll really have wished I went…and I don’t like regretting silly decisions so my butt will be glued to my bike seat at 7:15 tonight!

 

That’s all the random thoughts that have been bouncing around in in my head.  Weigh in is at 5pm and I will be accepting of whatever the number turns out to be, I have worked HARD this week and eaten well….and if my hormonal difficulties this week cause that not to show on the scale….well…I know I did well and that’s all that matters!

 

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Love List ~ October 19, 2011

Today I am grateful for:

sincere apologies

smaller pants that all of a sudden fit (yay)

vitamins

glossy pink lipstick

 

Make Me Sweat!

LOVE Tuesday morning spinning!  The instructor is one of the girls who used to teach the Saturday morning class (before I stopped going for 5 months!) and I got an amazing workout this morning.  She teaches the class a little differently than the girl that I’m used to and that means that in order to get the most out of the hour you have to push yourself.  Whereas the Saturday/Wednesday girl tells you exactly where you should be, the Tuesday morning girl sort of explains what you should be feeling and it’s up to you to get yourself there.  Different approach but I didn’t mind it at all once I figured it out.

 

I had a lovely shower, got dressed and then went tanning (no tanning cream yet…for whatever reason I cannot seem to remember to bring my wallet in with me!).  A 10 minute tanning bed nap after a hard workout and before work is just the thing!  It definitely may help that today is a gorgeous sunshiney day, maybe if it was dark and cold and grey I wouldn’t feel quite so centered and satisfied as I do now.  Whatever, I’ll take it.  1 week down, 9 to go! 

 

I also think that when 3:30 rolls around and I see my normal ‘go home’ time come and go that I’ll be regretting this decision, but….what’s success without sacrifice?  I don’t know of anything worth having that doesn’t take work or sacrifice or sometimes both.    There’s a certain amount of pride in doing something that is out of my own norm and which is definitely out of the societal norm.  There’s a sense of achievment in doing something that isn’t easy or comfortable. 

 

I have a weigh in tomorrow after work and I’m already setting myself up that the scale will report whatever it reports, I’ve truly done the best I could do this week as far as food and exercise.  Everything else is out of my control.  So whatever the scale says is what it says and I’ll accept it.  I will not be starving myself or denying myself hydration, four hours of torturing myself won’t change the outcome enough to matter.  Plus, I remember what happened last Wednesday night at spinning after I screwed around with the weigh in.  No fun!

 

Until tomorrow…enjoy the sunshine if you have it, a cup of tea perhaps, if you don’t?

 

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Love List ~ October 18, 2011

6am spinning class (as if you didn’t know that would be one of them!)

sunshine

pina colada flavoured protein powder

my waxist!

Week In Review (1)

Well Happy Friday!

 

Since Friday is the start of the weekend I always consider it the end of the week.  For me, the new week starts tomorrow morning.  So having said that, I think that I will start giving myself a little summary of what went right in the week and what went wrong.  That way I can gently shut the door on the week that’s gone and give the coming week it’s best shot.

 

Good:

Ray went back to work

I went to Saturday morning spinning…no small effort to get out of bed that early on a Saturday!

We had an amazing date night dinner on Saturday night.  Highlight date/meal of the last 6-8 months.

Ray’s mom and Auntie came home from Budapest

Rode our motorcycles for an hour on Sunday

Talked to my dad on the phone…which hasn’t happened in almost a year.  Nice chat!

Lovely morning coffee and scone with my mom on Sunday

A friend made me a turkey sandwich for lunch.

Down 1.2 pounds at Wednesday weigh in.  Total lost = 5 pounds, got a star sticker!

Killed Wednesday night spinning, left my fear at the door and got after it, hard!  Felt fantastic!

Girl’s movie night at my house tonight, should be good fun and good food!

 

Bad:

Ray’s on graveyards so I haven’t been sleeping well alone

We had turkey dinner at ABC on Sunday and it was dissssgusting.

My waxist changed my appointment and then ditched me on the revised appt.

Had some temporary insanity regarding weigh in day and hunger.

Got walked in on while showering at the gym. 

1.5 hour commute home on Thursday.  Big, bad, snarky jerk attitude when I got home…which I’m ashamed of.

 

When I write it out like that, it was a busy week!  Nice that the good outweighed the bad though!  Happy Friday, here’s to the next week of greatness!

 

Love List ~ October 14, 2011

This morning I am grateful for:

my down vest and silky scarf

pumpkin spice tea

girl time

kid’s sized ice cream cone @ DQ

freshly cleaned carpets

a good night’s sleep (thanks Rum!)

Next Time, Eat The Orange!

It is with the shame of a true idiot that I come to you this evening.  After my post this afternoon I realize that you may think that I am a raving lunatic.  Well….you wouldn’t be that far off base.  But, you see, my eat the orange-don’t eat the orange argument was about a bit more than just the orange.  The fact is that I’ve been working pretty hard at WW and my fitness and if that scale had gone up this week…for whatever reason, I would have been very, VERY disappointed.  As it was, I was down 1.2 pounds for a total loss over 5 weeks of 5 pounds.  I’ll take that.

Unfortunately what I did this afternoon by refusing to drink water or tea and eat my snack was to very nearly sabotage myself for my spinning class this evening.  Spinning is G’damn hard enough as it is without being hungry or dehydrated before you even get going.

Partially in order to punish myself for acting stupidly this afternoon…and partially because what’s the point in going out later in the evening and disrupting my night’s sleep with vicious (yes, I said vicious, not vigorous) exercise so close to bedtime, if not to give it all I have, I absolutely killed the workout tonight.  And got an upset stomach halfway through the class and then a massive stomach cramp (presumably from the water) near the end.  I powered through anyway but it served to remind me that while, yes, weighing in on the scale is important, Wednesday night at spinning class is MORE important and it would do me well to do what I can during the day to help myself be in the best possible position to succeed.

Aaaannnddd….that I should be doing whatever I can during the week to also put myself in the best possible position to succeed…and that does not mean denying myself whole, healthy food or fresh water or tea at any time.  Ever.  EVER!

If you’ve ever been on WW and you have played any of the crazy, self defeatist and sometimes downright unhealthy/dangerous WW Scale Games, you know exactly where I was coming from.  And how hard it is to make yourself put yourself first.  Because as someone who always likes to succeed, seeing a rise in weight is detrimental…..but not quite as detrimental as what could/can happen when we start farting around with proper health and nutrition.

Crazy out.

*shakes head*

Below is the crazy demonic Weight Watchers conversation that I am having with myself:

 

Sane Self: I’m hungry, I should eat the orange I packed in my lunch

WW Demon:  NO!  You have to weigh in at 5pm, you eat NOTHING!

Sane Self:  But I’m hungry and that’s not healthy

WW Demon:  Eat the orange then, but if you gained this week, you’re going to feel like a shit

Sane Self:  If I gained this week it is unlikely to be caused from an orange

WW Demon:  Whatever, DON’T DO IT!

 

And then Sane Self gives up and is sitting here hungry and annoyed.  In order to distract myself from the idiotic conversation in my head, I took a snapshot of my love list post it note that I wrote this morning.  I’ve been busy and didn’t really have time to post but wanted to get my Love List done.

 

 

Also, don’t you LOVE the colour of my desk?  Like a bottle of Pepto Bismol got sick and threw up!

Rainy Monday Evening

It is POURING outside right now!  Half happily and half sadly, I just kissed my man goodbye, handed him his lunch and sent him off to his first day back at work in almost a year.  I’m happy, overjoyed, that he’s going back to work because that means that the enormity and severity of his injury and our last year of hell….well…it’s really over.  I’m sad because it’s cold and dark outside and it’s warm and toasty inside and he shouldn’t be out going to work…he should be sitting on the sofa reading his book and kissing me goodnight.  On the other hand, he’s happy to be going, had a big grin on his face….and this sleeping alone business means that I get to streeeeeeetch out in the bed.  Bright side!  In making Ray’s back-to-work day a celebration of moving forward, I made him the chocolate chip cookies that my mom used to make for my sister and I when we were in school.  What better way to go back to work than with fresh homemade cookies in your lunchkit?!

I had an awesome weekend, we had an impromptu date on Saturday night after Ray won a 50/50 draw and took me to our most favourite restaurant where we had our most favourite meal.  In good WW’ing fashion, I kept the reins on and enjoyed myself but didn’t go overboard.  Sunday morning I went for coffee with my mom.  Had a coffee and then a couple of  hours later decided breakfast had worn off so I ordered an orange chocolate rooibos tea (Choc-A-Peel) and a small whole wheat berry and apple scone (I figured approx 5 pts+).  We had a lovely visit together and then I went tanning at my gym.

I am happy to report that I went spinning on Saturday morning…so that’s twice that I put it on the schedule and twice that I actually went.  It was the same instructor as Wednesday and pretty much the same release (workout version) but the whole thing was compressed into 45 minutes instead of a full hour.  Crazy!  I felt fantastic afterward though, munched an apple, a banana and a hard boiled egg and then an hour later for lunch had leftover roasted vegetables with an egg whisked in.  Delicious!

I made myself a workout schedule late last week and have it posted on my fridge.  A photo of it is posted below also.  I put quite a bit of thought into this schedule and determined that although I feel fantastic after attending and working hard in a spinning class, I really am just starting to get back in the swing of things again and so I have drafted my schedule to take that into consideration.  In efforts past, I would just go whole hog, both feet in and end up burned out or injured.  Not this time!  I wrote the schedule for the rest of October and almost all of November.  I also switched shifts with my co-worker for Tuesdays between next week and the end of December.  She’ll get the benefit of getting the early shift (7:30-3:30) one day a week (which should be a nice break for her during the winter months) and I will get the benefit of having built an extra hour into my day and be able to go to 6am spinning class each Tuesday.  It’s a limited time switch, just until the end of December, but I think it’ll be a nice twist for both of us.

Anyway, my schedule is below…and between now and November 26th I will have gone spinning 23 times and ‘ridden’ an approximate distance of 900 kilometers.

It feels very nice to be back to exercising and to have a schedule to follow.  I’m not silly enough to believe that I will achieve every single day, things happen, but to have something to strive for, that’s something good.  I read a quote on Marathon Sweetheart’s website earlier today: “…Why the hell didn’t I keep going? It’ll be hard now or, it’ll be hard later.  You Pick.”  I love that!

Leaving you this evening to go crawl into my….sob….empty bed….I give you a shot of some very delicious pretzel crackers that I ‘made’ this weekend.  They are little pretzel crackers from Costco, 3 pts+ for 11ish crackers….which I then flung a little dark chocolate at.  They were delicious, eaten standing in the kitchen on Friday night chatting with Ray and drinking delicious Australian red wine.

 

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My Love List ~ October 8-10, 2011

This evening I am grateful for:

spinning

Pumpkin Spice Tea (from Tim Hortons)

three day weekends

warm blankets straight from the dryer

home made chocolate chip cookies

wool tights

tanning

Claiming Fall!

Oh, Friday, how I have longed for thee!  Seriously though, I’m so happy it’s Friday and that we have a spare day off this weekend!  We were going to go camping but the weather has decided we need to stay home instead.  Totally fine by me.

 

Last night we had a work dinner.  Normally those things are dull and not something that I want to be involved in but I had a feeling that this one would be different….and it was.  Tonnes of fun, lots of chatter, lots of laughs.  We went to Cactus Club….which is NOT Weight Watchers friendly.  But, in the way of a responsible individual I made it friendly enough for me.  7 oz sirloin, no seasoning and only half eaten (6 pts+) and grilled asparagus.  Three bites of delicious appetizer and a couple bites of even more delicious dessert (approx 8 pts+) and a 9oz glass of Australian red wine (9 pts+)….LOL, love that the wine cost more than the dinner in points!.  It worked out well…there were things on the menu that I would have loved to try but it was a mid week dinner and I know that we’re going to be eating out this weekend so I made the proper decision….if not the most popular one.  Happily this morning, I don’t feel stuffed or disappointed in myself, I have a nice piece of steak for my lunch today, and I’m not going to be working like a crazy woman to ‘make up for’ dinner last night.  Score!

 

Speaking of working like a crazy woman……I went back to spinning on Wednesday night (remember, I said I had to be back in the gym by the time Ray went back to work…which is in 4 days!).  Obviously I tried to talk myself out of it, I tried a few excuses; it’s raining really hard, I worked really hard today, I’m tired, I don’t want to, this isn’t fair, dinner’s not ready in time, I can’t.  And then I gave my head a shake…because tomorrow it will not be any easier to go than it is today.  Tomorrow isn’t different, it’s today with a different name.  Might as well suck it up.  So I did.  And being back in the gym was like salve to my soul.  Gym welcomed me back with open arms, it wasn’t mad that I hadn’t been in months it was just glad I was there now.  It felt like I’d never left……sort of.

 

Back in the spring when I was training for my 40km trail ride I was going to spinning once/week religiously…and jogging and weight lifting…but we’re talking about spinning.  Anyway, the weekend before the big ride was the last spinning class I took…and during that class I realized that I had actually made progress, I was able to do all the ‘events’ that the instructor created and I was able to gear change exactly as she was instructing, rather than having to make modifications or scale back like when I first started.  Then I wiped out my mountain bike and that catapoulted me into relaxyville….where there was no spinning.  It’s been 4 months….doesn’t seem like that long ago, but let me tell you….I have absolutely no conditioning left at all.  None.  And that?  PISSES ME OFF!

 

So, I spin.  I spun Wednesday, I’m spinning tomorrow morning and I will be spinning at least twice a week until I feel like I’m back to a reasonable cardio level (I think by November 1st I should be good to go).  Then I will start jogging again on the treadmill….1.5% incline which simulates road running.  And I will do that (with the spinning) until I can again jog a treadmill 5k in 30-ish minutes (or less, ideally).  That’s my solid plan…there may be additions to it as time goes on but those are the non negotiables.    Also my gym has unlimited tanning for $3.50/week so I’ll be taking part in that over the next couple of months.

 

This fall and winter is mine.  I refuse to give it up to busy, to tired, to lazy or to any other negative energy that my brain creates.  It’s mine and I’m going to work hard and see the results and feel good and be proud of myself.  MINE!

 

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My Love List ~ October 7, 2011

This morning I am grateful for:

shiny red apples

red wine

pretty periwinkle headbands

Gatorade G2

roasted winter vegetables

 

 

Credibility

• My pants are tight around my middle and by the end of the day they are uncomfortably cutting into my tummy.
• I have shirts which do not fit like they’re supposed to.
• I don’t put my jeans in the dryer because they shrink down and then I can’t really get them on/done up.
• When sitting on the sofa at night in my jammies I will cover myself with a blanket so that my spouse doesn’t see my tummy rolls.
• When getting dressed I have to run the gauntlet list in my head of what fits and looks right and what doesn’t.

 

I am less than 15 pounds higher than I wish to be….and where I wish to be is well within the acceptable range for my height and body type.  I like 160-165 pounds on me…I have been there and I want to go back there.  I liked it there…all my clothes fit, I was comfortable in my body (any less and I was uncomfortable all the time, sitting in hard chairs hurt my bum and my back, my brain was all tripped out)…and not being there anymore without a very good reason for it….well that’s like having the little word ‘fail’ tattooed right on my forehead.  Small enough so that only I can see it, but there nonetheless.

 

I’ve been reading blogs lately (a great way to get motivation, to stay in the right mindset, to learn new ways etc) and the majority of the blogs which tag “Weight Watchers” or “weight loss” are people who are at the beginning or middle of a long journey.  It’s inspiring to read about regular people changing their lives, making better choices and feeling better.  Does the fact that my journey is shorter and less obvious make it any less credible?  Does that mean that when I go and weigh in every week that I deserve the upturned eyebrow from the chronic weight-watchers in the group?   Is it any less of an accomplishment to be down each week?  Or any less of a piss off if I’ve gained?  Is it any easier for me to turn down a drink or a piece of cake in favour of my goals?

 

Those phrases that I wrote above, do they apply to you?  How much do you have to lose?  They apply to me right now and I don’t have too far to go.  They also applied to me when I was over a hundred pounds overweight.  It doesn’t matter how much you have to lose (within reason and not getting into eating disorders or body perception issues) what matters is how you feel.  Do any of the phrases above seem like the person is comfortable with themselves or where they are?  And if they aren’t, shouldn’t they be trying to fix it? 

 

Everyone has their own struggle, their own battle, their own finish line and their own motivation for doing what they do.  Just because I am smaller than I once was and perhaps I am society’s vision of acceptable, I do not feel comfortable with where I am and that makes my desire to lose some weight and tone and gain fitness just as valid as if I had 100 pounds to lose.  Furthermore….when is it acceptable to go back to a weight loss program?  Do I have to wait until it’s physically obvious to people around me so that I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings or make them feel bad?  Or can I nip it now?  

 

It’s never over.  It. Is. Never. Over.  There is no finish line…there is just unending “try”.  Try to lose, try to get fit, try to keep it off, try to push longer, further, faster.  TRY.  Everyone, no matter their size, if they are trying for something that improves them and their image, physical and self, should be supported by everyone else who is trying.  Even if our ‘try’ looks different or we’re trying for different things.

 

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My Love List ~ October 6, 2011

This morning I am grateful for:

spinning class last night which makes me feel fantastic this morning!

a morning chat w/ a coworker

books, lots and lots of books

pretty jewellry

the start of The Regular Season