Good afternoon, gang! Well, I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like in the last week or two as things at work have been really busy - it's the end of the quarter, always a time when it's major nose to the grindstone!
All is going beautifully in maintenanceland for me - hope it is for the rest of you lovelies as well!
I am continuing to run nearly every morning, or if for some reason, any part of me hurts or doesn't want to run (I don't believe in "pushing through the pain," it's the quickest way to ruin this whole experience!), I do some other cardio, like elliptical, and continue to also do weight-training 3+ times a week. The running has truly become the new addiction - finally a healthy one! Each week I try to "press" my distance, as well as the speed I reach it, and I am in the 7-mile land now, for my "long" run, which is just amazing to me. Standard days' runs can generally vary in length, but are hovering in the 5.5 -6 mile range. The only negative is that I am starting to have to wake up EVEN EARLIER to accomodate the longer runs! I am picking up speed each time too, which is so cool, since I remember the day in the not so distant past that I couldn't even walk a mile. Now when I have to run errands and I know they're a couple miles away, I don't even question that I'll walk them! You can't imagine how that has affected my quality of life (and saved major $$ on taxis!).
Life is great, it's a pleasure to not be hot during these last few hot, hazy, and humid days in NYC, and to be able to wear cute dresses and sandals or skinny jeans and other fun cute clothes which I never was able to wear - look, I'm about 5'9", so cute is not generally part of my vocabulary, but my clothes are now so much, well, smaller, so I could almost say cute! How bizarre. Sorry, tangent...
Food is going well, and I have strangely figured out the whole maintaining thing. I generally stay within the same 2-3 pounds week after week. I weigh every morning before anything else, and the fluctuations that can occur from salt, exercise, whatever, don't stress me out, as long as I continue to stay several pounds below my "goal" weight, which I do. So, basically, I am just really comfortable.
Here's something I want to mention. People think I must not worry anymore about my weight or gaining. I think about it all the time. But in a good and positive way. I believe that if we allow ourselves to think we've got it figured out and we get complacent, that is when we'll begin to gain again. So I am constantly on a road of awareness, I ponder every item I put in my mouth, and I absolutely still fear gaining all the weight back overnight. But this fear keeps me vigilant, keeps me strong, and keeps me maintaining. People think the fear is a burden - I think it's a lifesaver. The only thing I fear more is the day I stop worrying, because that's the day I'd start gaining.
Diligence. Vigilance. Maintenance.
Works for me!
Cheers -
Lauren