Now that July is over, I can say that I didn’t make it to Panama City for my local YMCA’s July Journey. I went a total of 210 “miles”, which equates to 630 minutes of workouts. It wasn’t quite what I wanted, since I had 115 miles to go, but I feel good knowing that I went pretty far in my journey.
As far as weight loss has gone, I’ve hit a bit of a hump you could say. I haven’t lost in a good while, but I have maintained. I’ll honestly say that I wasn’t really attempting in the past two weeks, so this comes at no surprise. I can’t make excuses, because excuses are for weenies. I just need to move on and get back on track!!
I need to admit, however, back on track is not easy. I’m sure it seems that way…eat less, move more, but it’s much more complicated than that. My obesity stems from years of eating out of boredom, eating from stress, etc. I turn to food very easily. My brain is pretty much on autopilot to crave a chocolate bar in the late morning and a cup of ice cream in the afternoon. It’s hard to override those cravings.
I also have to force myself to the gym. It takes a lot to walk in that circuits class and say that I will do this workout. I start to think, well, I can clean the house…I have dinner to make…Work was hard today. There are better things I should be doing, right?
To help you think that I’m not so crazy, check this out. ABC News just published a story about a personal trainer who took the plunge to eat poorly and not exercise for a few months. Of course, he gained weight and a lot of it. Now that he’s subbed the apple for the chocolate for months and months, he’s able to truly sympathize with his clients and see what they mentally go through when it’s time to make that change for the healthy. While I don’t think this was such a good idea, it’s good to read that someone who was perfectly healthy and fit can now understand what people like me battle every single day.
It takes a lot to kill habits. I used to bite my nails in middle school and high school…somehow I got over the habit and now I grow beautiful, long nails. So, just like that habit, I have to break these habits. The habit of snacking…the habit of having better things to do. It’s my life and it’s time to finally take over and live it the way I need to — the healthy way. 🙂
Have you broken a habit? How did you approach it?
I find the best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a good one – but I have to use every trick in the book!
Mostly, I’ve found that what works for me is trying to think less (less arguing with myself) and just “doing” more… so if I don’t feel like running, I bargain with myself that I’ll just go for a few minutes… and then I DO. I just do it, no thinking about it. Once I’m out the door I always get in a good run.
Every time I do that, it takes me one step closer to realizing that bad habits come from negative thinking, and good habits come from either positive thinking, or from just refusing to let the negative take over.
Too bad we can’t just wrinkle our noses and change, huh?!
That’s a great idea! It takes a lot to start, but once you’re there, you can push yourself to do more! Thanks!! 🙂