On Friday, I made the announcement to my weight loss support group that I would no longer be reporting my weight to the group. This was a very tough decision for me and one that I had been going over in my head for some time. The group was initially and for a long time critically important to my fitness goals. Reporting weekly to the group kept me accountable for my actions most of the week. I used that accountability to lose a significant amount of weight. It has been rewarding to see other participants lose significant amounts of weight as well. The encouragement and support that I received was very helpful along the way.
However, I believe that I have changed. Working out and eating healthy are more of a habit for me then ever in my life. Certainly I have indiscretions, but for the most part I acknowledge those moments and commit to working a little harder or longer to account for the extra calories. I have also changed physically. I have significantly more muscle than I have ever had in my life thanks to my commitment to strength exercises. The problem with this muscle is that it most definitely weighs more than my former fat and the scale had become a source of frustration.
My mood for nearly the entire week would be based on what the scale read the previous Friday. When I lost weight I was happy, and when I gained weight I was distraught. There were a couple of weeks with significant swings dependent upon if I had indulged on a Thursday. These reading were not indicative of my overall health, and simply pointed out that I had eaten or drank a few extra calories Thursday evening. However, I was despondent nonetheless, and the following week when I did not have any treats on Thursday I was elated to have a big loss. But again, it probably was not a loss at all, but rather an indication of where I had been all along.
So, I decided to stop reporting my scale readings to the group. As I said it was a tough decision, but one that I think was necessary to take. I will still be weighing in, but using it as one of many indications about my overall fitness and health.
After I reported to the group for the last time, I went for my lunch hour run. I went out with the mentality that I would just run and see how I feel. If I wasn't up for it, I would not push myself. But when I got out there, I felt great. For the first time all spring the wind was not blowing at gale force, and I felt rested and ready to go! I blazed through my 3 mile route (I still need to get my bike's odometer on this route because I would still swear it is longer than 3 miles) at 22:08, or about 7:23 a mile. Normally that would be nothing to write home about, but considering some of my run times, it constituted a significant improvement!
I took Saturday morning off because my niece and nephew had stayed overnight and I assumed that extra help would be needed in the early morn, and I did my long run on Sunday. It was my first long run in a month, as other family commitments had taken precedence, and I decided to bump it up to nearly 10 miles (9.56) and strap on my new Crush Fuelbelt loaded with Carborocket for some in-race nutrition. The run went outstanding! The Carborocket flavor and sugariness, as well as the "bounce" of the belt, take a little getting used to, but I would say that overall both the belt and the fuel worked exactly as they are supposed to. I made it back home in 1:16:09, just a hair under 8 minutes per mile. I could not have been more pleased!
So the winds of change have arrived, I just hope they bring some nice "weather"!
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