Monday, August 3, 2015

That Day

As a veteran in the losing weight and getting in shape only to back track, there is one thing I always remember from each initial success that later turned to failure. There was always that one day that I knew the tide was turning. Whether it be that I had a great work out and it didn't kill me like it used to, or that the shirt I love so much is now far far too big on me to be wearing in public, or that I sat in a booth at a restaurant and my belly didn't touch the table.

Today was the "That Day" for me. I got up this morning and put on my favorite red shirt. As I started to button it, I noticed that there was a bit more room than usual. I then went on to work where I was met with several stressful situations all at once. And rather than biding my time thinking about what to go get for lunch that would allegedly make me feel less stress (but create new stress after, am I right?), I was fascinated with getting to my gym and getting a good workout in to bust the stress. When I got there, I almost had a milestone. As I talked about here while back, I have an obsession with pull ups, and I bought a assist band to help me get going on them. I was just a foot away from doing 10 pull ups on my first set!! I also had bigger than usual numbers on my successive sets!

Once a week, I do one workout where I lift weights, and in between each set, I go run on the treadmill for 1 minute at 5 mph. Today, I actually toyed with the idea of turning up the speed, because that speed was no longer challenging me like it had historically!! I mean I knew I had run, but I was not fatigued or breathing nearly as hard as usual.

So here is the challenge. Keep working, keep persisting in whatever your personal fitness endeavor may be. Strive for your "That Day" and when it gets here, know that from that point forward, it is largely a down hill race. I am NOT saying there will never be challenges after that, but the road is paved after That Day and the potholes are not nearly as rough as the gravel road you just came off of.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

No More Fiction

In the law, there is a thing called a legal fiction. So for example, if there is an accident that a husband and a wife are involved in, and one dies immediately and another a few days later, for the purposes of an estate, in certain situations, the law creates a legal fiction that they both died at the same time, despite the reality of a time lapse.

I have been previously trying to pretend like this journey after my relapse/regain is a fresh effort, and I am a newbie just trying to find my way. I am done with that. I know what to do to get where I want to go. What I don't know (yet) is how to get where I am trying to go without a return trip. I need to stop focusing on the map, I know the directions. I need to start focusing on what I am going to do when I get to my new hometown of Healthyville. Am I looking too far ahead and in danger of running off the road because I became a distracted driver? I don't think so. I have had at LEAST 4 successful significant weight losses. History says I can get down to a healthy weight, what it doesn't show is that I can stay there. I need to put in place tools that will help me stay thinner, and will keep me from heading back to OhCrapville. I don't have that yet, but with a minimum of 70 pounds to go before I get to Healthyville, I have time to work that out.