Stop and Think!

I was at the gym bright and early this morning at 6 am for a “last chance workout” before our Weight Watchers meeting at 6:45. The poor gal that weighs us in always has to deal with half of us TC-ers coming in sweaty and gross from getting our cardio in beforehand. But she always has a smile on her face anyway. What a trooper! :)

I was proud of myself this morning because I ran the better part of the 30 minutes I was on the treadmill, only walking a few minutes, and I didn’t feel like I was going to have a heart attack! That’s a big improvement for me.

I’ve been inspired to start running again by my friend the amazing , the wonderful, the marvelous Miss M. We ran side by side on the treadmill last week and I noticed her doing “sprints” where she upped the speed for short bursts of time. My competitive side kicking in, I thought, I can do that. So I did. I didn’t get the speed up to as fast as she was, but fast for me. So this morning I did it again. And it felt good. I don’t think I’ll go back to a 6 days a week running program like I did long ago, but I will definitely start adding running into my cardio mix.

I’ve also hit spin class a couple times in the last week. My butt hurts so badly! And I’m not talking about the muscles, I’m talking a seriously bruised booty! But nothing burns more calories for me than a good spin class, so I’m going to try to keep hitting that once or twice a week, sore butt or no sore butt.

My hard work paid off this week. Even with the holiday, I lost a little over two pounds making my grand total 6.6 lbs. It might be lofty, but my goal this week is to really step it up and get as close to, if not over, 10 lbs as I can. That is another 3.4 lbs. Probably not doable, but I am going to try. If I try and get even halfway, I've still done well.

On my way to work, I stopped at Edna Valley to pick up some water. As I was walking in, I thought, "I'm starving! I had a great weigh-in, I'm going to reward myself with one of their coffee cakes!" I went in and had every intention of getting one. I would journal it and yes, it would use up a lot of my points, but I could still probably stay within my totals for the day and certainly for the week.

Then I stopped and thought about it. Do I want the changes I am making to be permanent or temporary? Do I want to eat healthy and exercise every day or just on the days that it "counts" i.e. closer to weigh in? Do I want to do the best I can for my weight loss and fitness regime or do I want to just get by and just do enough? The answers to all those questions is the first option. This is a PERMANENT change for me. It has to be, otherwise, I'll slide right back into where I was and trust me, that is not a good place to be.

Can I allow myself to have something I really like and have been craving without going completely off program? Certainly. But if I make it a regular occurrance, like getting a coffee cake every time I have a good weigh in, then what happens when I reach my goal weight? "Oh, I'm at goal, I can have a coffee cake a couple mornings a week." I know myself, I am a creature of habit. If I start doing that, I will eventually go back to stopping there every day of the week on my way to work, picking up a coffee cake and a soda. And even if I didn't gain any weight back, I wouldn't be giving my body the nutrition and fuel it needs and deserves.

Another thing that this got running through my mind is how I use food. Is food really a reward? Or a comfort? Or a way to entertain myself? Because I have been guilty of using it as all of those things on occasion. Or should food be a way to fuel my body? It should be the latter, of course. If I can stop using food as a reward, then next I can work on my emotional eating, etc. Does that also mean I will never turn to food for comfort or as a reward? Heck, no! But I can make better choices in my "comfort food" and "treats." And I can use food in those ways much less frequently.

Long story short, I walked away from the coffee cake and went straight to the water case. I went to work and ate my breakfast of cereal, milk and fruit and I am off to Trader Joe's on my lunch hour to restock my work "pantry" (file cabinet drawer) and fridge for today and tomorrow. I should be poised for another good week. Check back next time to see if my change in attitude helped!