I Did It! Neener, Neener, Neener!

Today my daughter had a 2 hour activity across the street from a park with a 1.5 mile walking trail. I did Week 2, Day 3 of Couch to 5K after not having done it for several days (I did day 2 Friday of last week, and couldn't finish running the last interval & a half). I did it no problem! I do SO MUCH BETTER outside than on the treadmill. Not only did I finish Week 2, but I walked around the track 2 more times to take up the full 2 hours.

I saw a little old lady using a metal detector under a swingset.

I think I might have been going the wrong way on the track - I was constantly meeting people going the other way. I only saw one jogger and one bicyclist going the same direction as I was. But all the mile signs were facing me, so I don't know.

I am so thankful for Podrunner Intervals. I think one of the reasons I do better outside is that I'm not watching the seconds on the treadmill and waiting for the running portion to end. When I'm outside and feel like I can't go on during the running part, I say to myself, "if I make it to that trash can and it hasn't given me the signal to switch to walking, I'll go ahead and stop." Then, when I get to the trash can, I think, "surely, it'll be over by the time I get to that light post." And it always is. I can hold out just a little longer when I can't actually count the seconds.

I am ready for Week 3!

Finally Home and How I Know I Will Be a Healthy Weight

I had a great time at the Alabama Clay Conference. Had coffee & raisin bran for breakfast each day (and an apple this morning). For lunch, the healthiest option was a 'triple-decker' wheat PB&J. I skipped the chips & pasta salad and just ate the sandwich and a piece of fruit.

Friday dinner was reception food across from the art gallery. I loaded up on grapes, carrots, and cucumbers, but still had a mini biscuit with ham & mustard and a couple of small pieces of cheese. Saturday was a lot of cheesy soups, except for the chili. So I got it and a single pack of crackers.

Today at lunch there weren't any mayo-free options, so I ate a banana and an apple and the granola I had in my purse. Now I know that it wasn't enough, because I was really hungry a couple of hours later. So I had some rice cakes. I am learning.

I exercised 15 min. when we arrived at 1:30 am Thursday night. Friday was so tiring that I forgot (!) but got up early Saturday to get 15 minutes in for Friday. Saturday night I did 20 min. treadmill and 10 min. bike, and today after I got home I did 17 min. wii fit. I am pooped and have had a long and busy weekend and plan to get back to my 30 min. daily tomorrow.

I have finally come to the realization that I do know that this is going to work. I have been feeling like I am trying to convince myself, but something happened this weekend that made me realize that deep down, I believe it. I saw a slender lady who was laughing and talking to some friends. Normally, my first though would have been, "I wish I was that skinny" or "I'll never be that skinny" or something similar. But the first thought that popped into my head was, "when I'm that skinny..." I don't even remember what the rest of my thought was, because I was so shocked that I had that reaction!

I am still learning to eat healthy, and still trying to keep myself motivated to exercise, but I will get there.

Talking to Myself

I usually do 1/2 hour of wii fit each day. Sometimes I do 1/2 hour of treadmill, but I always do the Wii fit. (Heh. I say "always" like I've been doing this for more than a couple of weeks. Maybe I've had a lifestyle change.)

Anyhow, I weigh in early tomorrow at school because I will be gone Friday. I got on the Wii fit and was up 7/10 of a lb. I thought, "I'll show you!" and promptly got on the treadmill for 1/2 hour. Afterward, I went to do my 1/2 hour of Wii fit (if I'm by myself I usually do the free step at the highest speed). After about 2 minutes I was ready to quit.

I realized that mentally I was saying, "I'm tired, I don't want to do this, my chair is right there, I can just sit, it's going to take me forever to finish a half hour."

What timing. A day or so ago I was trying to bump up my SparkPoints and I read a SparkPeople motivation article about the power of positive self-talk. I have always believed it worked, or at least helped. Just watching my daughter repeat "I think I can" when trying something new reinforced my belief. But I'd never actually DONE it. It never occurred to me to do it. But because I had just read that article, I thought of it before I gave up and I tried it.

I set up an "I can do this" mantra in my head as I stepped and watched the Olympics. Shortly afterward, I was surprised to realize that I was 20 minutes in and didn't want to quit. It had worked!

So, there are two morals to this story. First, the positive self-talk does work. Second, doing things on the SparkPeople site such as connecting with friends and teams, reading articles, and tracking really does help. If I hadn't read that article, I would have probably plopped down in my chair and not only missed the rest of my exercise, but felt terrible, too.