Slow Is the Way to Go

This morning I had a bit of a revelation. I realized that I was just fine with losing weight slowly. Maybe even really slowly. Like, if I lost 50 pounds a year? Great! I will take it. I will take any loss in a year, but obviously since I have a bit yet to lose, thinking in terms of 50 at a time makes sense, and amounts to about a pound a week on average. Totally doable, totally sustainable. So what if I don't reach goal weight until 2018?

I mean, I don't think it will take that long, but maybe it will. Either way, it's better than gaining all that I have lost already plus some, which is precisely what has happened in the past. I got too impatient and probably a little scared and just lost my bearings. Now, even after 10 months and almost 80 pounds in, I am not even close to that happening again.

I decided that I wanted to try early morning exercise. I've done it in the past, but I always think of myself as someone who is SO not a morning person, and have been fitting in fitness efforts on lunch breaks and in the evenings. But now the exercise I like to get is a little too intense for lunch breaks, and I really like to keep my evenings free to spend with my sweetie and just relaxing. So it makes a lot of sense that, if I can make it work, working out first thing in the morning is the way to go.

So, even though I have a group run tonight with my 5K training group, I decided to try out the morning workout today. I was out of bed by 6:30am and out the door by 6:50. (I need to work on that.) It seemed to me almost impossible that I could do anything, much less a "homework" workout, but I always tell myself, do what you can, but just get out there. I had quite a nice go of it, too, and when I got home 41 minutes and 2.5 miles later, I treated myself to a nice shower and a yummy, healthy breakfast of some steel-cut oats with a banana, and felt super accomplished. not a bad way to start the day, right? (Not to mention that a double-workout day is nothing to sneeze at.)

It seems like something I can totally live with and even enjoy. Ideally I'd like to give myself an hour-long window so that I can get in a 5K distance with some wiggle room, whether just walking or walk/run. As you may know, I have four workouts each week associated with my training: two with the group and two as homework. My plan is, therefore, that I will do my walk/run homework on two mornings and the rest will be 5K walks of various intensities. I may decide to have one morning be yoga day, too – we'll see how it goes. I'd also like to attend yoga class once a week on an evening or weekend on top of that.

I am bursting with energy today! I even ended up going for a short (.75 mile) walk to a nearby Subway shop for lunch. I hadn't planned to do it, but it sounded good and I thought it would be cool to have three bouts of activity in one day. Thinking back, I can hardly believe that I am the same person now as the one who posted about how walking a city block felt as painful as the length of a marathon. Wow.

Which, of course, makes me think: What will I be able to do next year? I can't wait to find out. I'll be there.

In the meantime, my partner and I are getting excited about hiking season coming soon! We don't do winter hiking, and it's almost getting warm enough for us to venture out on our excursions again. Hoping come April, for sure...

Oh, and one last thing: It's true, it's official now! All the size 24 pants and jeans I've had tucked away now fit totally and utterly. Size 22, you're next! 3X, man? You're out the window. See ya.