Back in the Saddle: 2 Weeks In

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote a pretty personal post about my lack of focus on health & fitness for the 2012 year.  Since that public admission (gulp) I realized I needed to follow up and get back on the giddy up.  So, that's exactly what I've been doing over the past couple of weeks.

I'm not going to lie, it hasn't been easy.  We're in the midst of the holiday season, so prioritizing working out and eating healthy as I bounce from work happy hours to holiday parties, and turn down cake (I know, turning down cake is like torture) and beer in favor of the veggie tray and water/tonic and lime (I admit it, totally lame).



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However, and anti-festive as this sounds, I feel SO.MUCH.BETTER!  I've reworked my diet plan too, eating mostly veggies, very, very little meat, and only having healthy snacks when I'm hungry.  I've let myself cheat here and there, I indulge in ONE cookie, not 5, or I have a glass of wine instead of a sugary cocktail. (no grinches here)  I also am learning not to berate myself when I miss a workout or eat one too many M&Ms.  I scold myself once, vow to be extra good for the next day or two, and move on.  No self hate or beating myself up for 3 days because I missed ONE run or ate an extra 300 calories.

I've also been back to a regular running program because I signed up for a half marathon in March.  This was REALLY hard the first and second week.  It was awful dragging my butt out of bed before work to get a pitiful 3 miler in, then come home and feel like I was going to pass out in the shower because I was out of shape. It was equally awful when I'd get home at 6:30pm, look at how appealing the couch and my new Homeland Netflix looked, but still gear up and head out to get in a run before dinner.

But now, almost 3 full weeks back in, I'm starting to look forward to runs again.  I'm not feeling as winded when I get to the top of a big hill, or at the end of a run like I did a couple of weeks ago.  My clothes fit much better and I'm not constantly tugging at things.  Its also getting easier to order healthy food because I'm listening to my body...it craves healthy food, and works better when I eat it rather than when I get a plate of french fries.

It's still a struggle, I've been out of shape for awhile, so I know that this is going to be an uphill battle (literally) while I fight bad habits and covet motivation.  But with the little improvements I'm seeing as a result of my discipline, I've got to say, staying on this track is a LOT more satisfying than not.

For example, last night I did a 4 mile run.  My first mile I did VERY slowly, but then, the next 3 miles I got progressively faster as my body settled into the activity.  I cut 30 seconds off my first mile on the second mile, then did the same on the third and forth miles. I ended the run a few minutes faster than I'd expected and felt GREAT afterwards. 

Did any of you take the re-dedication plunge like I did?  How are you doing with getting back on track?  Any tips/discussion topics?

To those of you who recently vowed to get back in shape, remember:



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