A month ago I posted about my muddy run in London and noticing some bodily side effects:
it all adds up to a shit ton of alcohol, far too much junk food and not enough veg which ultimately means I have a lingering cold [..] and me going distinctly soft around the middle again.
Despite realising I wasn’t being kind to myself it wasn’t until last week that I a) finally got off my arse and made an effort to work out and b) stopped drinking. So a month of continued over-eating, little to no weight lifting and — I realised the other day — minimal activity of any kind as I’m not doing the school run every day. In fact, check out the disparity between June/July step counts and August (ignore May, I only got my Garmin half way through):
You don’t have to be a fitness guru to work out what the combined effects of more food and less exercise is going to be:
Two steps forward, one step back?
But this isn’t the end. I don’t want to just resign myself to being “a bit fatter” now. If I dwell on what I have done wrong, it’s going to drive me mad and madness brings comfort eating and binge drinking. I need to focus on, sure… I have put weight back on since March, but I am not the ‘me’ from July 2014. I can still squeeze into my size 12 jeans.
This is… no, this HAS to be motivation to try a little harder. Because there is no way in hell I’m going back to where I was before. Weight loss isn’t a one time thing where you put in some effort and bob’s your uncle. This battle is the rest of my life.
28 Aug at 6:59 pm
Fitness is definitely a process, and it can be a very long zig zaggy one. I’ve been lifting weights to keep my self-esteem and mental health in check (makes me feel better about myself, something I feel like I can control, etc), and I’ve been struggling with letting go of the idea of perfect eating and a perfect exercise schedule.
Life happens for better or worse. You get sick, you feel low, or you go on vacation and eat good good and spend quality time with loved ones. So sometimes fitness simply has to take a backseat and it sets you back. And I’ve learned that’s totally okay. I used to beat myself up about skipping a day and feel like a failure. But the whole point of fitness for me is to feel good. It needs to work around my life, not the opposite.
I’m not sure what point I’m trying to make, haha. Maybe I’m hoping you can resonate? Anyway, I think you’re doing just fine. :D I think you’ve come very far and a little set back is not a big deal.
30 Aug at 10:13 am
I’ve been trying to get my weight down for the last few months and sometimes it does feel like a tedious and pointless task “why don’t I just be fat and enjoy a block of chocolate everyday??” but then I remember I’d actually like to be able to walk around without being out of breathe and fit into my clothes etc.
I am a lot better at keeping up with exercise than eating well. I try to keep exercising even when my eating goes off the rails so at least I’m burning some calories after eating all that cake!
My goal for September is to not mindlessly snack, I love snacking and find I do it a lot even when I’m not hungry just because it tastes nice. It’s going to be quite a hurdle but I’ll give it a try :)
31 Aug at 11:16 am
I am always a little less soft in the winter, in the summer I like to drink beer and eat ice cream. So you’re not the only one who enjoys the summer holidays :) You know what you need to do though and what works for your body so onwards and upwards!