Despite disappointment, there's a smile at the scale.
There are weeks that challenge even the most committed athelete and make it difficult, if not impossible, to stay on course. Weeks like that happen because life happens... even to the non-athletes that just want to get into a little better shape.
Despite wanting it to be untrue, we don't get to set our priorities as if we are the center of the universe. Sometimes the needs of others - people we work with, live with, and care about - take center stage. When that happens in my world, I try hard to honor the commitments I've made to myself, but realize changing priorities can't be an excuse to quit.
Last week was one of those weeks for me. After consistently raising the bar and increasing my step-count week after week, and after walking the my longest walk in recent memory, my environment pushed back and slowed me down.
I found myself in all day business meetings that worked through the lunch-hour and eliminated my chance for a midday walk. The weather turned to heavy rains that kept me off the sidewalks after work too. Sprinkle in a few days of medical appointments with Cindy (my very top priority) and my productivity dropped significantly.
(Note: The orange bars represent my daily average step-count each week since the first of the year. It peaked last week at 18,350 steps per day. Then plummeted last week to 14, 563. Ironically, my daily goal is 13,500 steps).
Then something very unexpected happened. Even though I was disappointed in my daily and weekly exercise results, and despite my expectation that the reduction in exercise would show an increase on the scale, it didn't happen! To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
Somewhat in disbelief, I weighed myself multiple times to make sure I wasn't getting a false reading. I wasn't! I actually lost weight last week. Enough that I beat my monthly goal by five pounds and my total weight-loss since Christmas is just over 30 pounds.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that less exercise is the answer to better results. If it was, my couch-potato days of the past would have made me super thin. What I am suggesting is that being committed to the journey is more important than what we can or can't do on any given day or in a given week.
Stay the course. Be flexible. Find your healthy edge.
March Goals
Exercise: 100,000 steps per week: Check! Well over 100K average per week.
Weight: 279 pounds (or less): Check - Weighed 273.8 on March 30th.
Weight: Record and track all food eaten: Achieved about 85% of this goal.
Weight: Drink 32 oz of water per day: Missed it! Need more daily water!
Sleep: 6 hours 15 min per night: Not yet. Only met goal on 60% of the nights in March.
Stay tuned: I'll post April goals next week.
March 30, 2014
