So it is April, 33 days until my first half marathon of the year. I finally got a great long run in on Sunday with my running buddy Barb, 19K in the sun on Sunday, it was fabulous. I also attended a 2 day swim camp this weekend, hoping to get some help with my swimming, more efficiency with my stroke. Part of the swimming clinic was a body analysis and review. I have struggled with my weight for years and in 2010 I finally got to a healthy (according to me) weight. For the 2 years that followed I ate what I wanted, exercised regularly and stayed with 5 lbs of my goal weight. I used my clothes as my guideline, if they felt tight, I cut back on the extras for a few days and things went back to normal.
Last September I decided maybe I should lose a little bit more weight, as I increased my distances; I was worried about the wear and tear on my body. Well let’s just say I am wasting a whole lot of energy worrying about calories, what to eat, when to eat it and in what combination. Normal eating, attuned or mindful eating, Paleo, Low Carb, whole food, clean eating, it gets so confusing. Am I eating too much, am I eating too little, how much is enough…I don’t know anymore.
This is what I know for sure:
- I need to eat to fuel my body so it can do the things I ask of it.
- I am human; I have good days and bad days
- I do not want to have cheat meals/days, I am too important to cheat on.
To me the 80/20 philosophy seems like my best option, if I eat well 80% of the time, who cares about the other 20%. I can not and will not live without wine or chocolate, cheese or peanut butter and I should not have too. Same goes with exercise, if I hit 80% of my scheduled daily workouts, the other 20% will not make a big difference. I do not care what the scales say or my body fat %; I finally have a body I am proud of, a body that gets me over the finish line, a body that is mine. I have decided that I need to spend my energy living in this body; living life to the fullest and not worrying about numbers…and that is a big thing for me.
Doing the triple arm pump!!!! WOOT WOOT this is it! :) Proud of you in so many ways
ReplyDeletethanks Katie, after last week the universe once again reminded me what is important and the answer is not found on the scales.
DeleteAmen Sister! I agree! I also don't want a live without wine or chocolate, cheese or peanut butter! such an important message, I wish more bloggers were saying these types of SMART things!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your blog post, your honesty was so great. Let's live life to the fullest, whatever we weigh.
DeleteI love this post!!! I especially love your comment about how you are too good to cheat on. I am going to take that comment and hold onto it. Good for you for getting to this point! It is something that I strive for and I think it is so very important for us to attain, no matter how longit takes. So proud of you!
ReplyDeleteRight now I am where you were - with so much information out there about what way of eating, how many calories etc... I need to lose weight. I workout quite a bit as well (7 days a week) and know I need to eat - but would like my body to reflect SOME change at least (lord knows it will be easier to do burpees with less weight!). Loved this post, am so happy that you've figured out what works for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christy. It's all work in progress, one day at a time. You are doing the work, make sure you eat enough but mostly be happy. Be happy your body lets you do burpees and workout 7 days a week. My ability to train and do the workouts I want to is more important then the number on a scale right now.
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