Hiccups and Derailments

You might think that everything is easy for me. I mean, this whole weight loss adventure is just all peaches and cherry blossoms. Nothing ever gets derailed or goes wrong. I never get off track.

You would be incorrect in that assessment.

It’s never easy.

Some days are more challenging than other days. I might be in a solid groove for a few days but then BAM – something unexpected happens. Or things don’t happen as you thought they might.

That trip to Hampton Beach with friends. That was awesome, but I ate SO BADLY. I didn’t plan on having a sugary smoothie and ice cream. But then I did because – I didn’t plan and I actually didn’t know what to expect. I still regret nothing. It was an awesome day trip to the ocean. Let’s be serious. Any day I can wave jump is a good day.

Me at Hampton Beach 2018

I did plan on that Family Reunion. In fact, I don’t think I did as badly as I was anticipating. There were lots of green salads and fruit. Also, whipped cream type salads that I only get at .. family reunions. Also, there was cake. And brownies. I had some, but I didn’t have a TON. Which for me – solid score.

The Gooey Salted Caramel Chip bars I made for the reunion. 

What I didn’t plan on that five-year-old being I took for a few days to be so.. time consuming! Adorable, but time consuming. Apparently, they don’t watch themselves? So confused. 

So – maybe there were a few extra snacks, because at the end of the day – a long day because I’m not organized and how did it get to be 8:30 already and this five-year old is still awake? – I needed… something to dull the pain and leftover brownies from the reunion seemed smarter than vodka.

Beach Days. Reunions. Family. Kids. Unexpected breaks in routines (like rain – why is it raining again? And yes, my lawn needs the rain but it does make it gloomy.)

All these things happen.

It’s not about the things that happen. It’s the part after that matters.

You know, the day after beach day.

The day after the reunion (which for me went straight into having the five-year-old).

The day after the five-year-old leaves.

What do you do THAT day?

There are two options.

You look at yourself and say.. well, it’s Wednesday, so I’ll start tracking again on Monday.

Yeah, that’s it. Really. Gonna psych myself back up for that day. Monday….

OR

You look at yourself and say.. okay, back to business. Right now. Today.

Because today is staring you in the face saying – what are you going to accomplish today?

So I nailed it. I tracked. I did a workout and mowed the lawn. I stopped at Starbucks and got the Cold Foam Cascara Cold Brew instead of the Ultra Caramel Frappuccino, because as much as I like the Frappuccino better – 80 calories vs. 400 calories.

Kinda obvious winner right there.

And who knows – Monday might have some hiccup that you didn’t plan on. So you might as well take today by the boot straps and see what you can make of it.

Go on. Try it out.

And if today doesn’t work out, at least you tried. Maybe it will help you figure out how to do better tomorrow.

You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to win.

Hitting Goals

Making goals is great, but only if you eventually hit that goal. 

I’ve been smashing some of my own goals, and it makes me feel really proud! 

I mean, yeah.. I’ve hit some weight loss goals, but those are honestly less important than some of the other goals I’ve hit.

Look! Janelle and I at Starbucks!

For instance, one of my goals was to be able to wear fun clothes.

I wanted to make my wardrobe great again!!!

Too soon? Too late?

Anyway, I’ve totally done that. I’ve had to get rid of countless clothes that simply would not stay on me. My friend Janelle (er… was I supposed to change your name to protect your innocence?) took my clothes shopping a month ago so I could have appropriate summer clothes.

I literally had nothing that fit that was going to take m

That’s a serious YAY and I feel like I got so

me fun purchases.

Also some sensible things.

I even made myself a fun Marvel tunic with SHIRRING.

I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DO THAT! #NewSkills

I also had a running goal.

Let me preface this by saying that I have never, ever been a runner. You know in PE class (that’s Physical Education) when they make you run around the field. I was at a pretty solid walk.

Also, that was really ages ago – like over 20 years.

ANYWAY.

Since then, I have occasionally had this thought that maybe I would like to run.

BUT… I mean, I never really got much farther than thinking – huh. How would that feel?

I even did the Run/Walks sponsored by the Biggest Loser in Killington, VT.

Now, for people who have never been to Vermont, let me explain, that Killington is a ski mountain. So the trail was going down a nice hill, but then some up hills and downhills. Oh, with a ride on the chair lift mixed in there. Pretty brutal.

I thought I could run for a good chunk of this event. I had been using a treadmill. I could run… a bit.. like maybe for 1 minute. But I was solid. I was gonna…..  the reality was I walked most of it and was pretty much dead last both time I competed.

They stopped doing the races and honestly, I was pretty much over doing a Run/Walk at Killington.

That was a few years ago and I had kinda taken a break from trying to run.

This was me???

With my renewed interest in bettering myself this past year, I started using the treadmill at work again.

I gave myself a goal I thought I could work toward. I wanted to complete 2 miles in 30 minutes.

I didn’t use the treadmill every day (have you met me?! I don’t have that kind of time), but when I went I would track how well I did.

I was able to work with a student athlete who helped me with strength training and I used my treadmill goal as something I wanted to work on.

I also posted to social media every time I felt I got closer to my goal.

I know some people are all --- social media is evil. People are horrible. Why do you want to share your stuff with the world?

 

EEEESH. Tone it down.

If you don’t want to read my health posts, you don’t have to follow me.

It actually feels really good to have people encourage you and be excited about your progress. Give you advice. Share their own story.

Most importantly, I MADE IT!

Yeah, that’s right. I hit that goal and I smashed it.

My best time was 2 minutes in 27:45. That was also with my student athlete friend pushing me along.

Who runs at a 5.0??

Me for like maybe 3 minutes.

Now that I’ve hit that goal, I’ve had to set new ones.

Yeah--- you heard me. I SET.A.NEW.GOAL.

I didn’t just let it slide. To be honest, I’ve been working on other things, so I haven’t hit the treadmill as much recently (I’ve got other things I’m working on), but I do have new treadmill goals.

One is just to have the endurance to run the two miles at a consistent pace because while I can run that 2 miles, it’s lots of slowing down and then running fast. I would like to find that steady pace.

But I’d also like to do it better and eventually do another 5k.

Maybe still not at Killington.

#NotThatCrazy

Numbers and Data

I enjoy numbers.

Growing up, I never really thought I liked numbers. Definitely in middle school – numbers and I did not get along. 

It wasn’t until High School and three years of Ms. Buttolph that I realized that I wasn’t so bad at numbers.

Thanks Ms. Buttolph!

Ha. But this post is really not about math class or about if I’m good with numbers.

But it is about numbers and data and weight loss because I love seeing the numbers of things.

How many calories did I eat today? How many steps did I take? Did I take more steps today than yesterday? How many days did I workout? How many days did I hit my fitness goals? How do my overall steps this week compare to last week?

Sometimes tracking numbers can be helpful because you see patterns and you can make changes.

Sometimes, knowing the numbers can be --- less than helpful. For instance, how much do I weight today? How much did I weigh yesterday? What did I lose this week?

 

In the past, I’ve done the “weight myself every day” gig. 

You know what happens? 

OBSESSION!

OMG! I GAINED A POUND! END OF THE WORLD! NOTHING IS WORKING! Let me go be depressed all day about this.

I knew this time around that I wasn’t going to weigh myself every day. In fact, I don’t even own a scale. 

I do own a Wii Fit that I um.. liberated… from my mom because she wasn’t using it.

SHE WASN’T USING IT YO!

Even using that can be a bit depressing when you do something like hit a plateau. Or, OMG – I am one pound more than I was last week.

So, I try to stick to things that are more positive about what I’ve accomplished and not what I did poorly. Like that week I stepped 97,000 steps. That’s a lot of steps. I haven’t been able to achieve that goal again – yet. But now that I know it exists, I’m positive I can SMASH IT!

I also like checking out medical numbers. What is my Cholesterol. Is it in the good range? Is it better than it was last time? How can I make it lower (or higher)?

Also, those fancy bariatric scales tell you things like – how much muscle you have. Did I lose muscle? How much did I lose from my midsection?

And, OMG I moved from Morbidly obese to some category that says obese but not morbid. 

So MANY CHANGES!

Everytime I reach a goal, I set a new one. It might be more steps or a better balance of foods. A faster run time. It’s about keeping myself motivated to catching that new thing, hitting a new goal. 

Can I do it better than I did before?

I won't know until I try!