The school year has started again. This is always an exciting and exhausting time of the year. New faces and names to learn, new routines to establish and a lot to do to get ready. It has been hard to go back to working and taking classes again. It was nice this summer to have fun stuff around the homework. I'm really ready to be done with grad classes.
In my last post I indicated that I had been rethinking my goals and where my journey is and where I want it to go. I have had some successful things and some things that I can improve at. (I'm laughing that I'm writing "thing" because I don't let my students use the words "stuff" or "things" when they write. I'm breaking my own rule. But since I am going to explain what the things are it is okay.)
The main focus of my new goal is to lose weight. I have done an excellent job of maintaining my weight while running but not in getting rid of the excess. I think that this is because all the running makes me very HUNGRY! So I eat too many calories to lose weight but not so many that I gain weight. This will be great when I'm at my goal weight. It's a little frustrating right now. Since the beginning of the school year I have been VERY diligent about what I am eating and tracking it. I have been weighing my food and making sure I don't consume hidden calories. I also have been drinking a lot of water. This has two benefits. When I'm drinking lots of water consistently then that is what I crave rather than soda or other drinks. That's a win. Also, when I am drinking lots of water consistently I also don't seem to feel as hungry as often. Also a win. I also have been making sure I reach 10,000 steps on my Fitbit. While I know that I will need to be doing more (sooner than later). It has been nice for the start of the school year to not feel stressed about exercising.
The good news is that it is paying off. I had gained about 10 pounds last spring while dealing with some life stresses and doing it with food, which I know is not a good thing. My doctor was actually pleased when I said that because he said that most people don't acknowledge that they stress eat. I was able to stop the progression during the summer but was back to the stuck in place mode. As of this morning I have lost seven of those 10 pounds so I'm almost back to where I was last winter. Hopefully I can continue this trend and keep it coming off.
The other day I was trolling through pictures looking for one of my youngest before she got her braces a year ago. I wanted to show her how big of a change the braces had made in a relatively short amount of time. What happened was I also realized that I have had some rather significant changes of my own. My little girl is growing up very fast. Hard to believe the changes in her this past year besides just her straight teeth! But I also realized that there were some significant changes on me as well. My face and neck look WAY different! Holey moley!
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| Change doesn't always show on the scale! |
Still hard to see other people who have the pounds just melting off but realizing more and more that is not going to be my journey. I'm learning to be okay with just making progress. Pictures like this help remind me that I AM making progress.
We went for an absolutely gorgeous hike on Saturday with some friends. It was an absolutely beautiful morning. We went early enough to beat the heat but the sun was shining through the trees and it was truly glorious. All things considered I did very well. We weren't running but we were definitely moving right along. I can tell I haven't been running but it felt good to be out enjoying the day and my husband and friends company. Wendie and I had some good trail therapy as well. (For me, not her!) lol :-) I'm nudging along in the right direction but I'm so glad God put people in my life who hold my hand and love on me along the way.
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| This is God's country! |
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| Bailey did great on a 7 mile hike! |
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| Always looking for new trails to explore. |
I will need to get back to more running soon since I have a seven mile trail run coming at the first of November. But after my seven mile hike yesterday I know that even if I just walk the whole damn thing I am going to have an awesome time. :-)
I'm focusing on my my own race and I have to say, I'm liking what I see. :-)
