Monday, June 24, 2013

Watching and Waiting

I have never been good at being patient.

This saying is going around Pinterest and the internet in general. I don't know the validity of it, but it gets me thinking every time.

The last line is where my focus needs to be. I've had my gym membership for less than a month. My starting weight was measured on June 7, and it's now just June 24. I still struggle with anxiety of just getting everyone ready and out the door to get to the gym, but it is getting better. The girls love the child care, and I have yet to regret a visit. I also have (for the most part) cut out all wheat and have absolutely increased the amount of vegetables I eat. However, I told myself it was okay to majorly cheat on my daughter's 4th birthday party, where I had a piece of cheese pizza blotted with a paper towel, a chocolate chocolate chip cupcake, and some Dr. Pepper.

I paid for that dearly. My body, after days without wheat, colas, junk, etc. got so angry with me. NOT worth it. I had another chance to cheat at a birthday party this Sunday, but that previous experience was enough to squelch any temptation I had. It didn't hurt that it smelled like monkey butt up in that Monkey Joe's bouncy place, either.

That's one change I've seen so far in myself. It's taken me less than that 4-week mark in the saying to now internally realize that cheats, if they are going to happen, need to be carefully considered. CAREFULLY considered.  Another place where I feel is slowly shrinking is right near my rib cage and in my waist. I just feel thinner and stronger there. I'm impatient to wait for the overall change though. It will not happen overnight.

It's hard not to get obsessed with hopping on the scale every day. Logic tells me that it's totally futile to weigh myself every day, since I know weight wildly fluctuates even within one day. It's hard not to get hung up on numbers though. It's hard to have two measuring tapes I keep around for sewing easily accessible. I don't want to get numberized in that way.

My focus needs to shift if I'm going to keep up the journey. I need to figure out some measurable goals and make a plan for how to get to those goals. Choosing goals that don't involve inches or pounds are most likely the best ones for me, at least for now. I was revisiting my first post on this blog, and I need something more specific than "not wear the same bathing suit at the beach I've worn for the last few vacations." That particular annual beach vacation is at the end of July and early August-a reasonable amount of time to reach that goal. I just want to feel stronger and more confident in the new suit. I can't get hung up on a particular size because the fashion industry 1. sucks, and 2. never has worked out for my body type since I have to fit the bazoombas into something that is often not the same size as the rest of my body.

This week's goal is to, well, set a measurable goal. I'm going to talk to a few people about a Crossfit style workout plan, since that seems REALLY appealing to me at the moment and seems to have definite measurable goals where I'm only in competition with myself.

I'd love to hear in the comments what was the first goal you reached and how it made you feel!

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this today. It really hit home for me.

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  2. Do you have an exercise X number of times per week goal? I aimed for 3x/week. When I started run/walk my goal was to run 1 min/walk 4 min for 30 minutes. Or maybe a get out of the house with everything (including the kids) time goal - so if it takes you 30 minutes now find ways to make it easier, more organized (I have no idea if this is possible as I do not have kids), whatever so that it takes 28 minutes.

    If you try Crossfit-style workouts (really appealing to me too) please be careful and work with someone to make sure you have good form as you can really injure yourself.

    Oh, I don't know if the above is true exactly. I do know the conventional theory is that it takes 3-4 weeks of doing the same thing (like going to the gym 3x/wk) to form a habit.

    Let me know if I can do anything to help!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tips, Kat. I think I'd be way too chicken to go swinging kettlebells by myself and such, and I am the type that would need a group to keep me going anyway. YMCA has both Functional Fitness and WOD classes that are Crossfit-esque, so I'll be checking out those soon.

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