Day 2 (of December 2014) - I'm Back in the Saddle ...

Wow--I haven't posted to this blog since before my Carribbean cruise this Spring.

The cruise was excellent.  My behavior since then has NOT been.  My weight climbed over 240 lbs once again.

But I'm back in the saddle.  I purchased 24 hours of personal training at the gym next to my office, AND the gym credited me with 3 of the 5 hours I had left from my last purchase, which "expired".  (I had bought them in 2011, so I can't blame them for saying they were expired, I suppose.)  So I have 27 hours, which I'll most likely split up into 54 half-hour sessions.  At 2-3x/week, that'll have me at the gym regularly--and focused, and working hard--for somewhere between 4 and 6 months!!!  I can definitely make some real progress in that timeframe.

I'm excited to be back on the straight(er) and narrow(er).  My trainer, Dustin, seems awesome so far.  He's very young, very fit, and very encouraging. 

After each session so far, he's sat down and told me a little story, to give me some food for thought once I leave the gym and go out to face all the temptations in the world.  I wanted to get these down so I have a place to come if I forget them--or if I waver in my resolve, which I've always done in past attempts to change my lifestyle.


First was a story about a guy whose dream it had always been to walk a tightrope over the Grand Canyon.  Long story short, he finally got the chance--and when he did it, he also pushed a wheelbarrow full of bricks across the wire!

As he neared the other side of the canyon, people were so sure he wasn't going to make it that they were covering their children's eyes, so the kids wouldn't see him fall.

But as he got closer to the end, he suddenly shoved the wheelbarrow full of bricks the last few feet and then did a flip and a somersault off the wire to finish!

A reporter was waiting to interview this gentleman after his feat.  After they'd chatted awhile, the high-wire artist asked the reporter, "Do you believe I can make it back to the other side?"  The reported responded, "Sure, I just saw you do it--I think you can do it again." 

The artist asked "You think I can--but do you BELIEVE I can do it?"  Again the reporter replied, "Yes, I do."

"Good", said the artist.  "Then climb into my wheelbarrow."

And THAT is the difference between thinking you can do something and BELIEVING you can.  :-)  Good one, huh? 

The neat thing about that story is that I had just last week purchased a bracelet I thought might be helpful when I look down at it.  It's inscribed "she believed she could, so she did". 

Today's story explained the saying emblazoned across the back of Dustin's t-shirt--"Into the Roar".  Here's a link to a blog post about it:  Blog Post - Run Into the Roar.  It has to do with how lions hunt gazelle in the jungle.  Give it a read; it's just a paragraph.  :-)

The basic idea is that when you fear something, the best thing to do is run directly toward it.  If you fear you can't lift that heavy weight, or do those 10 more reps, or run that extra half mile--GO FOR IT!  You might just surprise yourself--and think how GOOD it will feel when you accomplish it!

Dustin is also giving me one "assignment" to focus on every week or so--he doesn't want me trying to "fix my eating" yet.  So far he's had me:

• Stop drinking everything except for water - ESPECIALLY diet soda!  The water is easy; not drinking diet soda is hard (but gets easier the longer I've been off it).
• Start taking a megadose of fish oil daily.  He said we'll back off on this after a couple of weeks.
• Increase the number of minutes it takes me to eat each meal.  Putting the utensil down after every bite and chewing thoroughly helps with this.

I understand his logic.  We're working on one small change at a time--not trying to change EVERYTHING AT ONCE, like I usually do.  That's been successful in the short run, at times, but it has never been sustainable.  So I'm gonna give it a good run, and really try to make these things become second nature.

One more thing before I finish this post:  I want to record how I've done food-wise since the start of December (ie, yesterday), when I decided to at least stop eating as foolishly as I have been. 

Today I had:

• Cup of coffee with coconut oil, a dash of half & half, and 1 tsp sugar
• 2-egg omelette loaded with mushrooms, spinach, and 1/2 slice of (processed) cheese
• Small banana
• Small bag of kettlecorn with sea salt/dark chocolate drizzle (700 calories--WHOOPS!)
• One cup of "veggie goulash" (squash/peppers/onions/mushrooms/hamburg/tomato sauce)

I felt good about today--although I don't think I can buy that popcorn again.  I thought I could eat just 1 serving, but ... I was wrong.  (The bag was 5 ounces/5 servings.)

Yesterday I had 2 Ensure High-Protein shakes and a big green salad with roasted chicken and oil & vinegar dressing, from Chicken Charlie's (no bread).  YUM!! 

OK--now I'm caught up.  I'll try to update regularly from now on.