Last August when I started to work out and exercise, I never dreamed that 11 months later I'd still be sticking to it. What was different this time? Well, first it was seeing the pounds come off. That was cool to see 18 pounds come off in 4 months. And I just felt better. Then I made the half-marathon goal. Nothing like putting yourself out there, right?
Just before the half, I had lost 44lbs. Somehow, I gained two pounds back. I'm not overly worried about it. I had to carb load for the half, and then after the half it took a good 4-5 days to get my appetite back to normal limits. So you might wonder if I'm not losing weight, why stick with it?
I'll tell you why: I'm not measuring success in pounds anymore. I'm measuring the benefits in other ways.
1. Energy level. I don't lie around tired anymore. Sure I take a break here and there, but for the most part, I feel better. I get up in the morning feeling generally pretty good, and I have a good energy level until bed.
2. It's mental. It's now to the point that the level of guilt I feel if I don't work out exceeds how good it feels to be lazy and skip a workout. I can't explain horrendous the feeling of "I suck" when I skip a workout. When I say skip, I mean I could have fit one in but didn't. But yesterday, I spent the day with Ty in Seattle, leaving at 8am and getting home at 6:30. Clearly, that was a day I'm not beating myself up over. In fact, I planned that as a day off. But if I have the time and don't do it, then I feel very guilty.
3. I enjoy it...most of the time. To be honest, I don't enjoy running 5 days a week. I love to throw spinning in one time a week. I don't mind elliptical every couple weeks. I find ellipticals boring, but to change it up isn't bad either. Usually 1 day a week, I don't want to do it, and the later in the day I wait, the harder it is. But for the most part, I do enjoy it, especially running outside.
4. Fitness improvement. At times running can get too competitive against myself, and I get mad at myself if my time didn't improve or I'm not making improvements as quickly as I had hoped. I'm still figuring all this out! But today was the perfect easy run. I did an easy 5 mile run in one hour. 3 months ago I would have been cheering at 12 minute miles, now it's "easy". That's improvement!
5. Meeting people. I have met an entire group of people who like to run. We share our successes, running times/paces, and it's all good and safe. I have now run with 4 people I never would have otherwise. Good stuff!
So if I look at the scale, and I use that as my measure for exercising, then maybe I've failed in the last month. But all I have to do is look at that list, and I know that success isn't always measured in pounds. The pounds help in the beginning for sure, but now it's so much more.
The biggest con...no clothes fit. I have to buy something new each week! I have a closet of clothes that do not fit...I guess I need to sell them so I can afford more clothes! :) I still want to lose 15ish pounds, but I'm in no hurry. They will come off when they come off! I'll just keep at it!
And you should keep at it too, because it WILL pay off in more than one way!
Happy Independence day!
Jolene
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