Lifestyle Changes

I'm seeing my life change on a daily basis. Change is the one thing we can count on in our lives, and I have always been aware of that, but in the past it seemed like change wasn't always healthy. Today, I choose healthy, and tomorrow I hope to do the same. I do not always make perfect choices, but the choices I make now are much more calculated than previously.

For example, yesterday I did my first Dry Tri at Orange Theory Fitness (OTF). A Dry Tri is a in gym triathlon that includes a 2000 meter row, 600 body weight movements, and 2.5k power walk or 5k run. I'm not a runner yet, so for me it was the power walk. I finished in roughly an hour, and I have a real sense of accomplishment just from finishing. This is not something I could have done 3 months ago when I first joined OTF. My 12 year old daughter was able to come cheer me on, and afterward I promised to take her to DelTaco. This is one of the only fast food places we ever eat at. I walked in planning on ordering my usual, 2 chicken soft tacos on soft corn tortillas without secret sauce, and then got sucked in by the Queso Blanco advertising.

Here is where it gets amazing. As we were coming out of OTF I could smell french fries, I'm not sure where the scent came from, but  I commented to my daughter that they smelled yummy. I like french fries, but for me they are not typically hard to resist. This day was no different, until we were looking at the Queso Blanco menu and they had cheese fries. In the past I might have just had them, but thanks to fast food menuing that includes the calories, I knew they were 500 calories. Some quick calculations, knowing that I actually hadn't eaten much for the day, and I realized I could indulge, a little. I asked my daughter if she would like to split an order, decided to get only one taco and no iced coffee, but unsweetened iced tea. This is a win!

Did I need fries? No, I could have gone without them. Did I allow myself a food that sounded good when I was in the mood? Yes, because I know that allowing myself an occasional day of reduced vigilance, especially in the light of so much physical activity, keeps me from feeling deprived. Feelings of deprivation can lead to binges, and I want to avoid that. The key here is knowing when to give in to a craving, and when to exercise will power. In the end, giving in to the craving is actually will power because I made a careful decision, not a decision made in a moment ruled by emotional eating. That is powerful indeed.

Hello from My Busy Life!

Whew! It has been a while. I didn't even realize how long until I shared my blog with a new friend I made at Heart Change over the weekend. The journey continues. I have still not dropped below 300, but I'm super close. This lifestyle is becoming more of habit. My youngest daughter started school last week, and I'm driving her and her BFF to school everyday so I can go to Orange Theory right after. I'm actually enjoying starting a schedule.

I feel like as I settle into that schedule, and get started in school it will be a good thing. It is going to make it easier, having a routine. Routine has never been a strong point for me. I'm not always sure I'm designed to do the same things day in and day out. We will see how that goes. Meanwhile, I need to regulate diet amidst the rest of this.

I haven't been so strict on diet, and I'm finding that since my body was already sort of trained on diet I tend to still be okay in not being too strict. I haven't been keeping track daily, but when I do go to check my diet I usually find that I'm on track, or under on daily calories. My body has become accustomed to smaller portion sizes, frequent small meals, and much less sugar. My daughter gave me a brownie the other night after I got home from Heart Change, and everyone said it was super delicious, but I found it too sweet and as much as I enjoy chocolate two bites was plenty for me. Those sort of changes encourage me.

Although the things that have been really encouraging me are the increased ability to do things in and out of the gym. We went to the beach and the walk up the steep hill was no biggie for me. I did 70 squats down to the bench last week. Something I don't think I could have done one of when I started Orange Theory. I'm getting ready now to do the dry triathlon at Orange Theory in two weeks. I'm not sure I can finish it in the allotted hour, but I'm going to give it my best try.  I will update you on my progress on that. It is my first step toward a traditional triathlon, which I hope to do next summer. Up and onward I go!

Little Steps

Changing a little bit each day adds up. Navigating this new life style becomes easier daily. There is always the question of what I might do today to make another step to pursue my health. This week I have been much more active. Parking further from stores, going to the pool, taking walks. I cannot say that each week I decide what part of the journey I'm working on, but that just seems to naturally happen. I have the food part of my plan pretty under control, the next thing to work on logically is fitness.

I hear a lot of talk about non-scale victories, and I've been experiencing those frequently. Things like being able to sit with my leg underneath me, like I used to do before I had so much knee pain. The lack of knee pain is becoming a thing. Last week I set myself some weight loss goals. The weight ranges I wanted to be by certain times. This week, I'm realizing I have fitness goals. That may sound silly, because it would seem they go hand in hand, but fitness goals are not something I ever thought I would have, or set.

Even more amazingly, is the type of goal. So, I have secretly always wanted to do a triathlon. Clearly something I never spoke of, or shared with people because it was absurd considering my weight. You may even think it is absurd now. The crazy part is I can see myself enjoying two parts of the triathlon, the swimming and bicycling, but the third part, running is something I have never really enjoyed, not even as a child.

To take this a step further, this will mean I need to train in running, and the best way to test my endurance in that would be to do a marathon. Obviously this is not something I plan to do soon. probably not this year, but perhaps the next. This is something that is going to take training and planning, but I am seeing myself at the finish line. I'm not sure when that mind shift happened, I only know it did.

I've tried to lose weight so many times, but this time is so different. I cannot explain what has happened, I'm trying to wrap my own mind around it. All I can say is it must be the Holy Spirit transforming my mind. My goals don't feel the same, they don't feel out of reach. It used to be such a struggle. I worked so hard to try to lose weight, to even try to care about it. I couldn't seem to succeed because I was so focused on how hard it was. Now, it isn't so hard, just a series of steps. Small steps that are leading to a big outcome, a big revealing of sorts. What will I look like, be like, and do at goal? A question I'm constantly asking and answering. A question constantly being answered. I cannot wait!