Thursday, May 12, 2011

Motivation

Some of you may remember this post from last summer. (shoot, looks like the picture is no longer there - it was a picture of tennis shoes :) Operation: Get Healthy has been on my mind a lot lately. I've been really fed up with not having things to wear and not liking pictures of myself. Really. It's been a pretty emotionally draining winter.

But I think things are on the up-and-up! It all started when I gave up ice cream for Lent. That may not be an issue for some, but in this house, almost every night Rocky wants some ice cream while grading papers or lesson planning. And I usually join him. But for 7 weeks I resisted. It was hard, but it was good.

In the middle of that came the Step Challenge. I was on a team with teachers from our school and we all wore a pedometer for 6 weeks. It was a competition through the insurance company, and teams of teachers and school staff from all across the country competed for weekly prizes. The ultimate goal was to get 10,000 steps a day, or 70,000 a week. But the "lower" goal was 50,000 a week. Holy cow, I didn't realize how few steps I naturally take a day! I think only 2-3 of those weeks I managed to get above 50k, and never did I hit 70k.

But now that both Lent and the Step Challenge are over, Rocky and I talked about a new, personal challenge. I got to keep my pedometer, and so I am still challenging myself to get to 10k steps a day. And if I do, I can have a small bowl of ice cream with Rocky that night if I so choose.

This morning I stepped on the bathroom scale and saw a new number - one I haven't seen in well over a year. I'm not going to share that number with you (what woman would?!), but I will say I've broken a milestone I've been longing to see. I'm still a ways away from my pre-pregnancy weight, and even then I could have stood to lose a few more, but I've got a whole summer of walking ahead of me! And I'm excited to be on my way to my goal!

While it's not all about the numbers, it sure was the motivation I needed this morning. That "you're doing something right" feeling. And how did I celebrate? I laced up my tennis shoes and walked with Abby to the FCCS Barn Sale. And back.

I'm up to 9400 steps already. Looks like I might be having some ice cream tonight - but then again, maybe I won't. :)

3 comments:

Urban Earthworm said...

Good for you!!! Isn't that the best feeling ever?

I recommend going vegetarian a couple nights a week. I have been SHOCKED by how much of a difference it's made for me. Happy Herbivore is an amazing and simple cookbook I would strongly recommend.

I konw that I have genetics on my side (and the Marines), but I really think the vegetarianism has been unbelievable in losing all my baby weight (and then some).

Urban Earthworm said...

I gave you an award over at Cheap Wine and Cookies: http://cheapwineandcookies.blogspot.com/2011/05/versatile-gritty-and-unpretentious-ill.html

Rachel said...

A trick I learned about ice cream - put it in a tiny bowl (portion control is a huge problem for me) and eat it with a baby spoon. Seriously - I enjoy it as much as a big bowl full, because it takes as many bites to eat it.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...