Getting back up.

You've done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.
~ Ralph Marston

I saw that quote over at Speaking of Witch and I thought YES! What a perfect quote to relate to the frustration that so many of us feel when we stand on those scales.

As we battle bravely against the bulge, we can sometimes feel like there is never going to be an end. After weeks of losing weight bit by bit, a gain can send us into a total tailspin before we even have the chance to think about what might have caused it. It isn't until much later that we consider the possibility it might be retained water or muscle mass. We are so wrapped up in the misery that comes with gaining that we are sure it is something we did. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn't and there really isn't any point in stressing ourselves out about it.

Yet that frustration sits there, simmering away at the surface. That frustration can get in the way of future success. It can make us wonder what the point is in continuing on our journey. It can, for those of us who eat our emotions, cause us to come home and do something silly.

What we forget is that we have done it before. We've had weeks and weeks of relatively consistent losing, so we know how to do it right. We shouldn't let one (or two or three) weeks of staying the same, only losing a small amount or gaining to stop us in our tracks, turn us around and send us back to BlubberVille.

Instead, we should take that frustration and put it to good use.

Last week, I only lost 400 grams (0.88 lbs) at weigh in. (I can feel Tex just itching to smack me for my use of "only lost"...a loss is a loss. ) I was frustrated by that because I'd been eating really well and working my butt off at the gym and pool so to not see that manifest itself on the scale was hard for me. I was a little miffed the whole way through my meeting and all evening. Then the next day, I went and kicked ass at the gym.

Work off the frustration and the stress...put it to good use. I don't know about you, but I work harder when I'm trying to burn off stress.

Another thing for you to try, and I'm going to tie this in with a brag, is to Take. Your. Measurements!!! And take progress pics.

Check this out.....I finally got around to taking another progress pic and doing my measurements. I've lost a significant amount of inches, especially off my waist and hips. My arms are looking (and feeling) more toned. And when I look at these pictures, I can see the difference in my neck and face. I'm even beginning to see some definition in my ankles!! Say goodbye to the cankles.

Do it. Trust me, it's worth it!

Click on the pic to see it in all it's gory glorious detail.

It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up.
~ Vince Lombardi

Breaking it down.....

If you want to reach a goal, you must "see the reaching" in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.
~ Zig Ziglar

Ahhhh goals, you gotta love them. Setting mini ones can help you along the road to the main event and help stave off some of that annoyance of how long the journey is taking. That is, in large part, why I set myself the 7 week challenge after seeing the idea on Prior Fat Girl's blog. And you know what? It's helping. Knowing that I have all these mini goals to achieve every week gives me something smaller to work towards. It's a lot less daunting than when I think about the fact that my MAIN goal is still 60kgs away.

So how did this past week go? Let's have a look shall we?

Goal #1 - Work out a minimum of 5 days a week - GOAL MET!

Of the three mini goals that I set myself, this was the hardest. That surprised me, but I did it!!

Thursday - 45 minutes swimming (50 lengths)
Friday - Day off
Saturday - 30 minute walk
Sunday - 45 minutes swimming (50 lengths)
Monday - 1 km on treadmill & 8.4 kms on bike
Tuesday - 1.5 kms on treadmill & 8.5 kms on bike
Wednesday - Day off

I think that going forward I will use Wednesday as a definite day off, because it's hard to fit my meeting AND a workout in that day.

Goal #2 - Drinking more water - GOAL MET!

This week I was allowed a maximum of 3 glasses of Coke Zero (my precious) a day and a minimum of 5 glasses of water. I actually had a few days where I only had two glasses of coke. It turns out that the more water I drink, the less I crave the Coke. Go figure!

As of today, I am only allowed 2 glasses of Coke and my water consumption needs to be upped by one glass a day. I can do this. Right? Right.

Goal #3 - Tracking everything that goes into my mouth - GOAL MET!

I carried that notebook everywhere. It was in my purse, on my dining room table, in my kitchen. I felt a bit like a tool but it really worked. I tracked every single morsel of food and drink that went into my mouth. And I will continue to do so.

Having to track everything has also helped me in my planning. Menu planning has become and essential part of my life and being able to track it ahead of time is awesome.


Weight Change This Week : - 400 grams (0.88 lbs)


And there you have it folks. Week 1 of the challenge is over and I'm feeling good about it all. I'll have a post up in a couple days about frustration and how to deal with it in a new way, so be sure to check back. In the meantime, I leave you with this other quote.....

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
~ Author Unknown

It's the little things

One joy scatters a hundred griefs. ~Chinese Proverb

I had the best day today! In fact, I'm having a fantastic week! My challenge is going really well so far, but I'll update that on Wednesday after weigh in. What's really fantastic is that my little sister (almost 20 years old and model thin & gorgeous) is here visiting for a few days from University. It's so awesome having her home.

Today, I had grand plans of walking up into the Wither Hills again today and taking the kids so that I couldn't back out. Turns out, they didn't want to go. So then I decided we'd walk about 1.5kms down the road to play in the park and get a treat at the bakery (for the kids! I didn't think I'd have points worth using on anything there!). But little sister didn't want to walk that far.

Sigh.

We ended up at the gym later in the afternoon, so it's all good.

But that's not the source of my happiness!

Did you read that quote at the top of the page about happiness scattering grief? It's absolutely true. I had SO much fun at the park with the kids. We played, we talked, and we had a great time. And I got to do this:

Picture from Free-Extras

Yup. I got to swing. And swing and swing and swing.

It has been a LOT of years since I was able to sit comfortably in a swing and just go. And it was one of the most freeing things. It really helped hit home just how far I've come.

It was AWESOME!!!

I squealed, loudly, in delight and didn't care who heard me. I was having such a good time, swinging back and forth with my 7 1/2 year old daughter and my little sister on the other two swings while my son and watched us with a big smile on his face as he listened to his mother squeal like a little girl.

And you know what? It made every bad thing that has happened in the last few days, every difficult moment I've had with this journey, just fade away. Gone.

What little things have you enjoyed lately that tie into your journey?