Reflection, Report, New Month, & New Goals

It was 5 weeks ago that I started this lifestyle change.  And it really has been quite the lifestyle change.  It's amazing how much of a difference attitude and perspective can make in such a change.  When people ask me if I can or I can't have something (in terms of food) I always say that I can eat whatever I want.  For me it was important that I made this lifestyle change something that is sustainable; if it is really something that is going to have lasting change in my life it has to be something that I keep on doing.  For this reason I've never referred to what I'm doing as a diet.  Because of my relationship with food, I realized it was very important for me not to make food the enemy.  And I think I've done a great job of that.

Now with all that said, I choose to eat differently than I did before.  I haven't banned anything from my diet, instead I look for better choices to make when it comes to food.  I've been focusing a lot on whole grains, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, and lean proteins.  This has been working so well for me.  It actually feels like I've gone through a detox program and I've learned again how great tasting healthy food can be!  I wasn't convinced of this truth before, but now I am;  you can have food that is both delicious and healthy!  There are still days that I end up eating more than I should, but instead of the extra food being a half of a large pizza it's grapes or baked lays potato chips.  And that is most definitely a better choice.  I do still have room to do better, but I'm extremely happy with the progress I've made and the choices that I most often make.

My exercise routine has been going well.  Today I started week 6 of C25K.  I'm blown away with the progress I've made on this front each day.  On Friday the training called for me running for 20 minutes straight without stopping, and I did it!  It was only 5 weeks ago that when I ran for one minute straight I thought I was going to die.  I'm still not very fast, and I definitely need to keep pushing myself, but I've gained both the physical and mental strength to push through and overcome this program.  I look forward to waking up early and going for my run or my walk.  My goal has been, and still is, to go at least 3 miles everyday.  And 3 miles just keeps getting easier and easier!

As I said in my last update, one of the biggest areas that I've seen improvement is in how I feel.  That has continued to be true.  A simple demonstration of this is something I realized just this past week.  As I was unpacking things in my new apartment I came across my bottle of Tums.  I realized that in the past month I hadn't needed to use any for stomach pain relief.  Back before I changed how and what I eat, I would take Tums several times a week to deal with the consequences of eating too much food.  That moment that I looked at the bottle of Tums was a victory for me.  Things are getting better.

But of course there are always those measurables that help to track and motivate.  The two things that I track each day are my weight and my workout distance.  On day 1, June 30, I weighed 322.6 pounds.  This morning when I weighed in the scale read 298.6 pounds.  That's a difference of 24 pounds!  Even more exciting to me was that for the first time in probably over a year (probably closer to 18 months even) I weighed less than 300 pounds!  I'm feeling good and it just motivates me to keep going and to improve even more!

I do my C25K training on Mon, Wed, Fri.  On Tues, Thurs, Sat I just walk.  Like I mentioned earlier, my goal is to go at least 3 miles each day.  Since June 30th I have logged 105.65 workout miles.  Those don't include additional walking or movement throughout the day, only what I do for exercise in the morning.  Just as with the weight, the progress that I've made just propels me forward and motivates me to keep going!

It's weird, or maybe it's not, but the longer I work on changing my lifestyle the easier it has gotten.  I don't have to make the daily struggles anymore of craving such-and-such food and then having to talk myself out of making a choice I will regret later.  The more I live this the easier it becomes.  I don't ask myself if I really want to wake up early and exercise; I just do it.  I have so much momentum I can't stop.  I don't want to stop.  It is, in my eyes, a true lifestyle change.

And the most rewarding part for me is that I have discovered that I am capable of so much more than I ever thought I was.  When I started, I honestly didn't know if I would be able to pull through and make progress.  I feel so much stronger than I ever have before, and much of that strength has come from within, but a significant portion of that strength has come from the throngs of people that have supported me on this journey, as well as from divine help.  How blessed I am to be associated with you amazing people that lift and encourage me.  From the bottom of my heart I give you my most sincere thanks.

Goals for the month of August:  lose 15 additional pounds (down to 283) and continue to exercise at least 3 miles/day.  School starts up for me in the middle of the month so I built to some space to account for adjustments that will have to be made in the routines that I've set over the past month.  I don't see this as presenting too much of a problem though.  Onward and Upward.