It’s Wednesday again, and now that I’m back from 11 days away it’s time to get real and refocus. There are a few points to cover today.
First, I have decided to stop my weekly weigh-ins. I’m feeling like a hamster running in a wheel and never getting anywhere with the yo-yo numbers posted every single Wednesday, and I’m starting to feel down and discouraged, which certainly is not the goal of Well-Being Wednesday or Project 10. So from here on out, I will do a monthly weight check along with my measurement week, which falls around the 23rd or so. Sound fair?
I want to be sure I focus on every aspect of my health – physical fitness, weight loss, mental well-being, and emotional well-being. I just feel like focusing on the scale each week is deterring me from that. Now, don’t get me wrong, I will still step on the scale every single day because it’s just what I do. But I’m not going to beat myself up over weekly changes when I can see that my pattern is clearly a yo-yo one but with a downward trend. This isn’t the Biggest Loser – I’m not trying to lose 10lbs a week. I’m trying to make lifestyle changes and I need to remember that.
But, in full disclosure – I totally gained like 5 lbs over 11 days of vacation. I’ve already lost 2 of them as of today’s scale visit, so things are moving back in the right direction. But it was worth every single bite – clamcakes, stuffies, burgers, pasta salads, and lots of drinks. And hell, I ran a 10K on vacation, so that makes up for some of it, right?
Second, and also in the interest of full disclosure, I need to let you all know that I’m having serious concerns about the half marathon I’m scheduled to run in just 5 short weeks. I already knew I would be doing a run/walk, and I was ok with that. But the pain in my knee after the 10K last week is still there, and I’m just not sure what I will be able to do. The good news is that the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon time limits are very, very generous, so I could definitely walk the entire thing if I needed to (4 hour time limit is 18 min/mile, definitely walkable). But that’s not what I set out to do when I registered for this race.
Right now, my plan is to get out and attempt 3ish miles either tomorrow or Friday. Depending on how that feels, I’ll go for a longer run on Sunday. Then depending on how that feels, I will start making some decisions. If I feel that I can do a run/walk that day, I will go for it. If the pain is too much, it’s off to a sports doctor and hopefully I can rehab the knee and try again next year. I certainly don’t want to do any kind of damage to the knee that will prevent me from continued running in my life, because I’ve come to truly enjoy my time spent pounding the pavement.
Third, and finally, I need to make sure I’m focusing on all aspects of my well-being, and I feel like my Wednesday posts have been solely about weight and workouts without also focusing on what I have/want to do for my mental and emotional well-being. I will fix that in next week’s blog post for sure, but for this week I can say that 11 days away, running a 10K, and getting to visit with friends and family several times was certainly good for my soul. Exhausting with 2 kids who were cranky and out of routine, and without my husband there for most of it, but still great. Now I’m looking forward to returning to a work routine, a quiet weekend at home, and some good, quality family fun.
I apologize for the long, rambling post, but I needed to get this all out there so that I can regroup and rededicate myself to truly improving my life. I hope that you are all able to do the same, and I will be posting several great ideas over the next week or so as to things you can do to help yourself truly make some lifestyle changes.
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Focusing on your overall wellbeing, rather than just weight loss, is a great idea – best of luck with it (and the half-marathon!)
thanks!!
The scale thing can be so frustrating. I think it’s a good idea to do monthly weigh-ins, to really get an idea of how much weight you’re losing, gaining or maintaining. I have to say, my focus has also shifted to weight loss when I originally wanted an all around healthy lifestyle. It’s a bit disheartening, but at the same time, I’m finally losing some weight so I’m excited about that.
It sounds like you had a great vacation, full of yummy foods! And i’m sure your body will adjust as you get back to regular life
I think it is important to focus on all aspects of well being as well, obviously, since I wrote about that today too. After my weekend away, I feel renewed in my commitment to get healthy, and I hope that this will lead me to an upturn in my energy! It was so great seeing you last week. xoxo
I laughed as I posted then saw your post. Great minds think alike
So wonderful to see you too! Hopefully one of these trips up we can even do a double date!
Dang! Another post I know I read and would have sworn I commented on! What happened to me last week?!
Anyway, I’m glad you are refocusing and getting back on track. Sometimes taking a break lets us renew our energy and have a little fun. Can’t wait to hear how you did this week!