Creating a New Normal

The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.” ~ Mike Murdock (via Pure Nourishment on FB)

I saw this quote first thing Monday morning, and I knew I had to take it up as my mini mantra for the week.  It just so happened that I had the entire week off for February Break (President’s Week), and I planned to use the time to see friends, recharge my batteries, but mostly to get in some kick-ass workouts.

Monday: Fage Fast. Muscle Blast class 25 minutes of my own circuit of strength training and 75 crunches, meeting BeautyJunkie824 for coffee (and support!), BellyDance video OnDemand, walk Sofi. (100 minutes total).

Tuesday: Fage Fast. Walk/talk with Kim (& Sofi) for an hour, Upper Body Combo video OnDemand, stretching yoga video OnDemand, 75 crunches.  (95 minutes total).

Wednesday: Back to normal, healthy eating+ (I’ll explain the + in a future blog post). Talked with one of my best, very pregnant friends, Zumba Exhilarate World Mix DVD, puppy play date with Riley/Ani & Sofi/me, 75 crunches, BL At-Home Challenge lower body.  (80 minutes total).

Thursday: Normal, healthy eating+.  I surprised even myself with all that I did. (103 minutes total).

Friday: Normal, healthy eating+. Walk Sofi, Cardio Kickboxing with Cathy Syphers (OnDemand), 100 crunches. (75 minutes total).

Saturday: Normal, healthy eating+. Coffee/ 3-mile walk with FaveCousin.  Originally FaveCousin and I had planned on going to brunch, and I knew that wasn’t going to work well with my food plan (plus, I’m not a fan of breakfast/brunch foods in general), so I asked if we could switch things up, and it was just as much fun (probably more-so) to go on a long walk/hike and have coffee.  We even walked all around the downtown area and window shopped, adding another 25-30 minutes to the walking total. And after that, plus the rest of the workouts I’d completed this week, I was DONE yesterday.  Poor Sofi didn’t even get a walk, but she played a bit with Minnie, so she was fine.  (90 minutes total).

Sunday: Normal, healthy eating+. “Rest” day. Walk Sofi, cleaning, errands. I’ll still burn calories, to be sure, but I’m not going to do a formal workout.

I’m really proud of all that I have accomplished this week.  Since Monday, I’ve lost a total of 7.4 lbs!  And I feel great with all of the workouts that I’ve done.  Something else happened this week, too.

I had a major discussion with my parents about my weight.  At first I was hurt and a bit defensive when my mom said rather directly, “Bella, if you really want this, you’ll make it happen.  It’s been a long time that we’ve watched you attempt to reach the goal that the surgeon gave you, now it’s time to do it.”  And she wasn’t wrong.  She went on to say that she worries about my health and about me developing diabetes, and I told her that I hate hearing that she worries about me and that the extra pressure doesn’t help me.  Then I got really honest and really specific with them about what it means for me to be a food addict.  I revealed my true weight, which I’ve rarely ever done, and while I was grimacing as I waited for their reaction, my mom said, “oh, good, you’re under 300!”  I think it was the murky area of not knowing exactly how much I weighed that was causing a lot of her concern.  I also told them about my progress (weight loss, food plan, and workouts) this week, and they were both really impressed and encouraging.  And then my dad, who is always the quiet one who only says things when he really has something to say, said something that made me have a real ah-ha moment.

He said that he thinks I do really well in the summer and on weeks like this one when I have a break.  And then he asked me why it’s not like that when I’m working. And I said it’s because I have a hard time feeling like I can fit everything in when I work.  He said that he thinks it’s because I am really stressed when I’m working and that I get overwhelmed.  And he’s so right.  I’d never really put two and two together like that before, but it’s the way that I handle (or don’t handle) the stress of work that causes me to get overwhelmed and give up on a healthy lifestyle.  Which is derailing my progress toward my goal.  When I used to smoke, I’d just that as a coping mechanism for stress, instead of turning to food.  Now that that’s gone, I need to replace it with different ways to cope with stress.

So I’m going to use workouts as my way to de-stress.  No matter what else is on my “To Do” list for the day, on my early days, I’m going to leave school and head straight to the gym to do a workout similar to Thursday’s (although maybe not as intense with the weights). On the days I’m there later, I’m going to take Sofi for a walk as soon as I get home and use that time to clear my head of anything and everything that I’m feeling pressured by.  And then I’m going to do a DVD or OnDemand workout directly afterward.  Because the other thing I realized this week is that when I’m active and busy,  I think about eating/food much less.  So the trick is going to be to keep myself engaged, even on work days.

The other thing that I really loved about this week off was that I took the time to connect with several friends.  It’s difficult to do that during the week, but I can make phone calls, write emails, and read blogs to give and get support from those I care about.

I spoke to my mom yesterday and she mentioned that she hears something different in my voice lately – a new conviction and a new attitude.  I feel amazing about all that I’ve done this week, and now it’s time to prove to myself that I can maintain it in “real life,” with all the stress that comes along with it.  Consistency, hard work, and determination = achieving goals.