There are some people in my life that I can give a lot of credit to for keeping me focused on this journey. However, I don't think they always realize the impact that they have. Even a simple statement can trigger something within me. It can be a friend sharing their daily workout, on a day that seems void of any motivation to exercise, or a coworker mentioning to me their recent weight loss success. Their journey inspires me and reminds me of my own.
Recently, a coworker was sharing with me her determination to become more active and lose weight. She purchased a Fitbit, and we were discussing her step count each day. Remembering that I had a pedometer I decided to start wearing it. My goal is to start moving more.
This weekend I created a lofty step goal of 10,000 a day. It was easily achieved, but I knew returning to work would send that goal much further out of reach. I have a desk job so there are not many opportunities to move around. Actually, I was surprised to see today's steps even reach 1,000. After the gym and an evening walk, I did not end up too bad, with almost 7,500 steps. However, I needed a plan for the time I was at work.
So... tomorrow I have a plan! A friend's suggestion prompted me to decide that every hour I will do some laps around the area outside my office. This will surely be a great break for my body and mind throughout the day at the cost of just a few minutes. No, I don't expect this extra movement to produce lots of weight loss or replace my time in the gym, but it certainly can possess some amazing health benefits with a very short expenditure of time.
So there you have it, one simple conversation helped me become focused on a new way to improve my health, both mental and physical. This is a good reason to talk about your journey with others and share theirs with them. You never know when you will lose your way, have a bump in the road or need the strength of someone that is headed down a similar path. I have learned from my journey that I can't do it alone. Yes, at the end of the day I am responsible for what I put into my body and how much I exercise; however, the path is much easier with friends.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
What Motivates Us to Change?
I have often wondered how I stayed motivated during the beginning of this weight loss journey. It was a time of tremendous change. My eating habits were altered, I began to include exercise as a regular part of my life and a pretty miraculous transformation began.
As I look back on the early part of my weight loss it all appears so easy now. Whether it was or not at the time is no longer obvious to me. Then I turn to try to understand where my motivation came from. There must have been something pushing me to make all those changes and keep me headed in the right direction. Was it the Biggest Loser contest at work, the friends I made that shared the new lifestyle and the struggles of adjustment to it, the trainer that pushed me beyond where I thought my limits resided or was it something inside me that wanted to break the cycle for good. I am not sure I am any closer to knowing where that strength came from. However, I do know that at times like this I long for the answer. I want some magical switch that will align everything to make the struggles I experience with weight easier.
I know that my challenges will always be something that I have to battle. Even if I were to lose all these remaining pounds I will have to fight to keep them off. Maybe I will get closer to the answer of what motivates me to be on the right track and what steers me off. It would seemingly make all this much easier.
I am still amazed by all the mental aspects of struggles with weight and eating. I see it everyday where people hide their emotions in food. Heck I have been guilty of rewarding my children with dinner out or ice cream to celebrate an accomplishment. Food has some serious misuse in our society, and I am among the abusers. Food is like an old relationship that is destructive to my well being. Sure I know that it is not a healthy relationship and that I would be better off to get it out of my life, but something draws me back into those old habits time and time again.
So I am left to ponder where my motivation lies in those times of focus and progress. Is it something tangible that can be grasped for help to fight the fat girl with all her emotional eating or something buried deep inside that periodically comes to the surface but can be easily pushed back down without focus. I have a lot of determination, will power and I thrive on getting what I want. Seems like all the pieces are there, but something is still missing from time to time. My search continues....
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
An Epic Adventure
I decided to take today off because of the unseasonably warm weather. Last night Kent and I researched some hikes in the nearby National Park and decided on one with tons of waterfalls. Since this would be a hike without the kids, it gave us a chance to do one that is a little longer and more difficult. So, we had our plan set.
I started to feel a little apprehensive about being out of cell service for a few hours, but we would be done no later than 1. So we dropped the kids off at school, ran and errand, then we headed to the mountain. The park was nearly empty at 9 in the morning and the weather was beautiful. It seemed to be a perfect start. We pulled into the parking lot about 9:30. Even though Kent felt we were not in the right place, we headed out. We knew the first trail on our route was a horse trail and we found that across the street from the lot. Ha! I was right after all.
After following the horse trail covered in snow for over a mile, we had some more doubts that we might not be in the right place. Around the 2 mile mark we hit one of the trails we knew was on our planned route and took it. The mile marker said 3 miles to the next trail that would loop and lead us back. It all sounded good to us. We began descending the trail, which was pretty darn steep, feeling grateful that we did not need to return via this route.
The trail soon was bordered by an awesome stream. It was beautiful and started forming waterfall after waterfall. We stopped on a few occasions to take pictures and enjoy the amazing scenery. We were having a great time descending this beautiful trail and not doing too bad on time.
Unfortunately, we arrived at trail signs at the bottom of the mountain that said the other trail was 5 miles long. WHAT!!! The whole trail was supposed to be 7.3 miles, and we had now traveled 5 miles. That meant we should have between 2 and 2.5 miles. Yes we figured it was going to be all uphill and we had read it was all stairs. All this seemed so much better than going back up the miles we had come down. But 5 miles was WAY more than we were prepared for. So we went to the parking lot that was at this end of the trailhead to read the map, which was not available at the trailhead we had taken from inside the park. Unfortunately, the map did not show what we remembered about the trail we thought we were on. Uh-oh.
So it was now 1pm and 2 hours before the kids would be getting off the bus. We had been on this trail more than 3 hours, so taking the same route back and being home in time for the kids did not seem possible. Finding someone that would take us the 50+ miles around the mountain was not likely. Therefore, we needed to find a way to call a friend to get the kids off the bus and then begin the long hike back to the car. We asked a few people whether they had cell service and all the answers were no. However, we did ask a really nice couple that offered to drive Kent to a local store to use the phone.
45 minutes later he had talked to a friend that was going to take on this task, even though it was going to take some creative shuffling on her part. So we headed back up the trail. After all the downhill hiking, I was looking forward to some uphill climbing. However, this feeling faded about a mile up. Wow that was a lot of stepping up from one rock to another and at times felt a little like I was crawling. We had to take breaks here and there to catch our breath.
We made it back to the road about 3:30 and decided to take the road back to the car instead of the horse trail. As we approached the road we saw the parking lot we were initially supposed to begin from. Unfortunately, our parking lot was almost 2 miles up the road. We slowly trekked by to the car and headed home.
After getting Kent home for work, picking up the kids and thanking my friend, I headed to get some food. We had taken snacks and water on the hike, but we did not realize we would be out there so long and had very little to eat all day. After some nutrition delivered to Kent and mine eaten, I decided a shower was very needed. I was covered in dirt from head to toe.
Now that the kids are home, we have eaten and I am clean it is time to reflect on some of today's lessons. Don't hike on a new trail without a map and confirming you are in the right location. My husband obviously loves me. Not once was he mean or nasty about the fact that I led us on the wrong trail and caused us to wander in the woods for over 5 hours. My friend Stacey and her husband are awesome. I am soo grateful to them for being there for us today.
Even though today did not go perfect, in the end I was reminded of God in numerous ways. The amazing beauty of the landscape we traversed, the couple that trusted us and wanted to help us make sure the kids were safe, the fact that my friend answered her cell phone at work (she always has it on silent and in a drawer, but today it was on her desk. Also, she happened to see it ringing and picked up a number she did not even recognize).
All in all it was an adventure that we will remember for a long time, and it has broken my desire for a day long hike for a while. I will get back out of there this spring, but with a map, an accurate altitude change expectation and shorter distance trail.
I started to feel a little apprehensive about being out of cell service for a few hours, but we would be done no later than 1. So we dropped the kids off at school, ran and errand, then we headed to the mountain. The park was nearly empty at 9 in the morning and the weather was beautiful. It seemed to be a perfect start. We pulled into the parking lot about 9:30. Even though Kent felt we were not in the right place, we headed out. We knew the first trail on our route was a horse trail and we found that across the street from the lot. Ha! I was right after all.
After following the horse trail covered in snow for over a mile, we had some more doubts that we might not be in the right place. Around the 2 mile mark we hit one of the trails we knew was on our planned route and took it. The mile marker said 3 miles to the next trail that would loop and lead us back. It all sounded good to us. We began descending the trail, which was pretty darn steep, feeling grateful that we did not need to return via this route.
The trail soon was bordered by an awesome stream. It was beautiful and started forming waterfall after waterfall. We stopped on a few occasions to take pictures and enjoy the amazing scenery. We were having a great time descending this beautiful trail and not doing too bad on time.
Unfortunately, we arrived at trail signs at the bottom of the mountain that said the other trail was 5 miles long. WHAT!!! The whole trail was supposed to be 7.3 miles, and we had now traveled 5 miles. That meant we should have between 2 and 2.5 miles. Yes we figured it was going to be all uphill and we had read it was all stairs. All this seemed so much better than going back up the miles we had come down. But 5 miles was WAY more than we were prepared for. So we went to the parking lot that was at this end of the trailhead to read the map, which was not available at the trailhead we had taken from inside the park. Unfortunately, the map did not show what we remembered about the trail we thought we were on. Uh-oh.
So it was now 1pm and 2 hours before the kids would be getting off the bus. We had been on this trail more than 3 hours, so taking the same route back and being home in time for the kids did not seem possible. Finding someone that would take us the 50+ miles around the mountain was not likely. Therefore, we needed to find a way to call a friend to get the kids off the bus and then begin the long hike back to the car. We asked a few people whether they had cell service and all the answers were no. However, we did ask a really nice couple that offered to drive Kent to a local store to use the phone.
45 minutes later he had talked to a friend that was going to take on this task, even though it was going to take some creative shuffling on her part. So we headed back up the trail. After all the downhill hiking, I was looking forward to some uphill climbing. However, this feeling faded about a mile up. Wow that was a lot of stepping up from one rock to another and at times felt a little like I was crawling. We had to take breaks here and there to catch our breath.
We made it back to the road about 3:30 and decided to take the road back to the car instead of the horse trail. As we approached the road we saw the parking lot we were initially supposed to begin from. Unfortunately, our parking lot was almost 2 miles up the road. We slowly trekked by to the car and headed home.
After getting Kent home for work, picking up the kids and thanking my friend, I headed to get some food. We had taken snacks and water on the hike, but we did not realize we would be out there so long and had very little to eat all day. After some nutrition delivered to Kent and mine eaten, I decided a shower was very needed. I was covered in dirt from head to toe.
Now that the kids are home, we have eaten and I am clean it is time to reflect on some of today's lessons. Don't hike on a new trail without a map and confirming you are in the right location. My husband obviously loves me. Not once was he mean or nasty about the fact that I led us on the wrong trail and caused us to wander in the woods for over 5 hours. My friend Stacey and her husband are awesome. I am soo grateful to them for being there for us today.
Even though today did not go perfect, in the end I was reminded of God in numerous ways. The amazing beauty of the landscape we traversed, the couple that trusted us and wanted to help us make sure the kids were safe, the fact that my friend answered her cell phone at work (she always has it on silent and in a drawer, but today it was on her desk. Also, she happened to see it ringing and picked up a number she did not even recognize).
All in all it was an adventure that we will remember for a long time, and it has broken my desire for a day long hike for a while. I will get back out of there this spring, but with a map, an accurate altitude change expectation and shorter distance trail.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Losing the Same Weight Again...
You would think that when you realize how much work it takes to lose weight that the last thing you would want to do is lose the same pounds again. However, many times I have found myself right where I am today. Countless times I have seen these same numbers pass over the scale and wondered why I allowed the weight to come back again. Thankfully I have never gotten close to the 300 pounds I once was and have only resided in the 200s for a moment a few years ago, but it is still hard to see all that hard work erased.
Ever since the beginning of my battle with weight, there have been periods of determination that were followed by times of complete disregard for calorie counting and exercise. When my focus returns I am amazed and a bit humored by the absurdity of my previous thoughts. My mind justifies my horrible eating in many stupid ways, and I push off exercise for a plethora of idiotic reasons. It is interesting all the things you can make yourself believe to be valid reasons to not do the things that you so obviously know you should. I know there is just not a good reason but also know these periods of time will inevitably return. My focus will be to try to limit them as much as possible.
I have to truly thank my friends for their continued encouragement which helps return me to the right path and keep me focused. Knowing that I have been a source of inspiration and change for others is truly amazing and helps motivate me to turn this weight gain around. Therefore, I am going to enjoy my return to calorie counting, caring about what I put into my body and working out with purpose again. Hopefully this momentum will continue for a while.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)