What a difference ten weeks can make in one’s mindset. As I suspected, the arrival of the new school year has meant an abundance of work and a busy, often crazy pace that has left me little time to reflect or do much of anything at all outside of my work and home responsibilities, and my continued determination to keep fit.
It’s been almost eight months since I gained or lost any real weight, which is as comforting as it is frustrating in equal measures. As easily as I’ve gone up two or three pounds when I’ve had an indulgent weekend (or a longer spell away from home), my body readjusts downward as soon as I readopt my daily routine. It seems ridiculously easy now to be moderate, to maintain the status quo and to enjoy a dedadent treat once in a while without fear of climbing back up the scales. That is the comforting part of this new lifestyle where I have a healthier diet and daily exercise, and actually enjoy my activities and the foods and drinks that slip past my lips. People raise an eyebrow when I tell them I splash cream in my coffee, indulge in full-fat yogurts, and occasionally indulge in forbidden desserts and wine, but the truth is that I have discovered a balanced way to live that I doubt I will deviate from again. Fingers crossed, right?
But with this comfort comes frustration as well, and it largely stems from deciding whether or not I should be satisfied with what I’ve achieved thus far. I am happy with my “medium” dress size, the 50 pounds I’ve shed, and my overall fitness and wellness; I also realise that any kind of weight loss at my age is difficult and for that alone I should be proud and pleased. All that said and done, I still feel that with a bit more resolve and some refocussing, I can push myself beyond my current limits.
For the first year and a half, I kept a daily food and exercise log on a great phone app called My Net Diary, carefully entering my meals and workouts. Likewise, I took a photo at the start of each month so I could “see” the changes in case the scales were deceptive. I stopped doing both those things in the last six months, though I have continued to track my weight each morning, happy that it has been stable since losing those pesky holiday pounds from Scotland last March.
So it’s time to do go back to “tried and true”. The app is getting fired up again, and I’ve added weight resistance and Zumba classes to my aquafit routine. My body is fit and strong enough to rise to the challenge, and I have also decided to reconnect with yoga practice twice a week to compensate for the increased activity by stretching my tired muscles.
Oh, and those photos… Time to stand in front of the mirror and smile for the camera again, just to capture whatever progress I make. Looking back at how far I've already come, I can now use the knowledge and experience from what worked the first time. So here we go! Round two begins today.
6 comments:
Well the photo comparison alone should give you courage! Good luck, dear! Just don't get too thin. I know how that looks on me and it isn't pretty! I'm a lot older than you, I know, but more mature years and being skinny are not necessarily complimentary or complementary :)
Don’t worry, just aiming for another ten pounds sitting on my tummy area. And you look great, as always!
You go, girl!
Thank you, dear heart, but I keep most of myself covered these days. I need some muscle to fill up the skin, but my shoulder is still stopping me doing that! And, I think you look great now...you've lost so much weight already and you really have lovely legs! I am envious! :) xxx
I'm sorry your shoulder is getting in the way. I found these amazing machines at the gym called "gravity" machines. They allow you to work all the muscle groups through weight resistance pulleys but without damaging the vulnerable back and knee areas because you are on a horizontal plank/board. My right shoulder is still a problem, but I just lower the gravity angle when I'm working that area. That's been a big way for me to get those muscles. The legs I inherited and just tweaked with muscle, to be honest. :)
I need to be on this very same bandwagon! A few pounds here and there have crept onto my frame and I can feel the difference in my back.
You look amazing already (and I am posting months after your original post) and would echo Val's sentiment. You should be awfully proud of improving your health and fitness!
I have an app a bit like that on my phone... perhaps a good time to fire it up again...
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