One thing I've learned thus far is that every day isn't going to be a good day when it comes to losing weight. In general, most, if not all, of my days are good days. I have a great job, my kids are all healthy and happy, I have great friends, I live in a beautiful part of the world and I still get to drink great beers...albeit not as much as I use to. That said, when we're speaking about the quality of my days about 6 weeks into my one year challenge, I'd definitely say they're not all good days!
I've skipped a few workouts because I was just too tired. I've exceeded my daily calorie goal on a couple of occasions. I've sneaked a few nibbles of food that I shouldn't be eating (chips, pizza, cookies) and I've generally felt unmotivated on more than a few days.
One of the things I'm working really hard on is not letting those minor disappointments stand in the way of the progress I'm making. A saying that I keep repeating to myself...and it's very appropriate for this year-long challenge...is, "It's a marathon, not a sprint". I'm down almost 30 pounds in 6+ weeks and that's amazing. There are going to be setbacks along the way. There are going to be days that I'm going to want to devour an entire pizza myself. There are going to be times at the gym that I'm not going to want to push that extra 15 minutes...but I'm okay with that.
This past Thursday was one of the days that I would describe as a bad day. At breakfast, I over-indulged a bit by adding some Turkey Sausage to my scrambled eggs. By the time I had a glass of milk, a yoghurt and banana I was already about 40% to my caloric goal for the day. I had plenty of protein which helped curb my hunger until past lunch, but my sleep the previous night wasn't very good so I started to get really tired by about 2 pm. I was adamant to press through this and made plans to go to the gym following work. When I arrived at the gym, much to my delight, it was closed! I think I acted upset it was closed but really wasn't in the mood for a workout. I just wanted dinner and bed.
Once I got home, I had some leftover ham and steamed some corn for dinner and I also had a fruit smoothie. I sat down on the couch and was ready to pack it in for the night, but something inside (guilt?) knew I needed to get off my ass and at least do something active. Just before 7 pm, I decided I was going to go for a bike ride. I didn't know where or for how long, but I knew I needed to do something.
I'm not going to bore you with the details of my ride, but it ended up being 11 miles and although I felt exhausted afterwards, I felt awesome for ending my day on a high note. I turned a bad day into a good day!
There are bound to be bad days I can't turn into good days, but as long as I keep them to a minimum and keep focused on the long term goals, I know I'll be successful. If anyone else out there is going through anything similar, don't allow minor setbacks to derail you from your end goal. It's a marathon, not a sprint!
P.S. - Tomorrow, I'm off on a 23-mile ride! Bring on the Monday weigh-in!!
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