Fitness Update: Starting Over – Again

If you read my Weekend Coffee post from this weekend, you know I am back on the fitness wagon. I should elaborate that when I say “fitness,” I am encompassing all areas of a healthy lifestyle, exercise and nutrition.

So, my lovely readers, I am giving you an update on my fitness status. I thought I would do this in a Bridget Jones style diary entry. Remember how she started each entry with her weight and how many drinks she had? Well, I’m not going to do that. The scale is just a number and I don’t really drink.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Yes, I do drink on a very rare occasion.

No, I won’t have a drink just so you can see me drink.

No, I don’t need a drink in order to have fun.

Now that we have that out of the way. Instead of sharing meaningless numbers, I thought I would share my workouts for the week, the miles I ran, and/or food I eat, something along those lines. Feel free to give me suggestions on what you want to know, especially if it will motivate you to get on the fitness wagon, too.

Right about now I have to make a disclosure. I am not a doctor or a nutrition specialist. I am not a fitness trainer and have no certification to claim in this area. I take what I know from the countless documentaries and articles I’ve read and try to apply it. Do not take my comments as a medical recommendation. You need to do what is best for you and your body. End of disclosure, back to our regular blog post.

If you don’t already know from reading my blog, I used to be very fit. I ran six days a week and ate healthy. I allowed one day that I could eat pretty much whatever I wanted. Coincidentally, this was also the day I went to my mom’s house for dinner. Can’t pass up her cooking and very little is healthy, but she tries.

Then, somehow I got off track, or to continue with my metaphor, got thrown out of the wagon. I landed hard and struggled for some time, running sporadically and not eating well at all. I gained a little weight, but nothing to be overly concerned about. After a while, I all but gave up running. I still thought of myself as a runner, but I didn’t run. Kind of how I thought of myself as a writer but didn’t write. I can’t tell you the logic behind either of those lines of thought, but there it is. It is how I felt.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, when I weighed more than I did before I ever climbed in the wagon the first time. I have a few friends that also sporadically worked out, so they were sympathetic and supportive, but not motivating. It was my cousin that finally got me to climb into the wagon and stay there. She has been working hard and the results are evident. I felt like a slob next to her and it was nobody’s fault but my own.

Ok, so finally we are at the update. Once I decided to commit myself to fitness again, I have done fairly well. Today will mark about two weeks since I got back in the wagon. I have exercised in some capacity, either cardio or strength training most days, though not the six days I did back in the day. It is a good start.

My eating habits are in the process of changing. I am a firm believer in making good decisions about your food, which is not even close to the same as dieting. So, to make good, long-term healthy food choices, it is best to gradually make changes. I feel like I am setting myself up for failure if I cut out all the bad habits I developed over the past year all at once.

But, even with my few changes, I am already seeing results. The scale is rather stubborn, but I wore a pair of pants last night that just a couple of weeks ago I couldn’t button.

That is what I would call a victory.

How is your progress? I would love to hear from you about your fitness challenges and successes.