The Power of Positive Thinking

My regular Thursday Weight Watchers meeting was canceled this week so I went to one today. Are you ready for this? Because I wasn't.

I HAVE LOST 75 POUNDS!

That's the charm I received from WW. I didn't know there was a 75 pound charm. To see my earlier charms click here. This week I lost 1.4 pounds. That means I am now in the 150's! I weigh 158.8 pounds. I tell you, I am really amazed at the concept of being 75 pounds lighter. If you were to strap 75 pounds on my back and tell me to take a walk I'd probably collapse. How on earth did I carry that much weight? No wonder I needed a nap every day. Thank you to every single person who visits this blog, to those who cheer me on - this blog and your support have been really helpful to me on my journey. I am now 8.8 pounds from a "normal" weight.

I did pretty good with my goal to carefully track this week. According to my tracking I went over in my points by about 10 but I lost this week and that's all that really matters to me. I'm going to keep this up. I will start a new week of careful tracking tomorrow.

I recently got to thinking about the power of positive thinking. It's a cliché but, I think, only because it's true. In college I hated math, algebra more specifically. As a joke I started making only positive comments about algebra. What started out as a joke became more serious when I decided to see if I could change my feelings about algebra. When I first started saying things like, "I love algebra, it's my favorite subject", my mind would chime in with, "liar, you hate it", or some such other response. After a while that inner voice gets quieter and quieter. Sort of brainwashing I guess. All I know is it worked. I went on to tutor math in college and even got a job teaching math for a while.

I incorporate these ideas into my weight loss and fitness journey whenever I can. One thing I have learned is to stop saying things like, "I suck at hills...". Now I say, "In the past I have struggled with hills...but I'm working on changing that." Maybe I'm overboard on the power of positive thinking but I really feel we have to stop saying negative things to ourselves if we want them to change.

My big thing is running, what's yours? I used to say, "I hate the run" or "I'm not a good runner". Now I say, "The run is challenging for me but I'm working on it and getting better". It may sound kooky but it works! I'm getting better at running and I no longer hate it. "Historically the run has been my most difficult sport but I'm training and getting to be a better and better runner." Sounds funny? Wait until it starts working! "I am a good runner....Running feels good....I am going to make huge gains in my running....I enjoy running." At minimum I believe that by stopping the absolute negative statements we open ourselves up to the possibility that things can change and improve.

Speaking of running. Thank you for all the treadmill tips. My favorite suggestion was intervals. I didn't get bored in the early weeks of c25k and I think it was partly due to knowing there were changes and challenges every few minutes. With intervals I'd bet I get the same effect. I have a 29 minute run tomorrow and if I end up doing it on the treadmill I will definitely incorporate intervals.

What Kind of Person...

gets up at 7:30am on a Sunday morning to go running? I DO!! And that's just strange.

Backing up a bit first. I've had shoulder pain around my scapula off and on for years. After that free ART (Active Release Technique) treatment at the NAMI walk gave me some relief I decided to get some more. I went to the physical therapist after work and got some treatment (ouch!). He sent me home with stretches to do every day and a plan to come in twice a week for four weeks. Have I done any of the stretches since? No. I'm a terrible patient, absolutely horrible. I'll try to do them at least one day before I go back next week. Can you cram for these things?

So my training log called for a 88 minute ride. Miguel and I headed out to the route the Marin Triathlon is on. We started out with him in front of me, which I prefer, and somehow we lost each other within 15 minutes! And that's with no turns or anything. I won't tell you the whole strange story but suffice to say we learned a lesson. It's not enough for one of us to carry our cell phone, we BOTH need to carry it. I came upon Miguel about an hour later walking the side of the road calling my name. He thought I might have fallen down the side of the road and was hurt. He was very scared when he got back to the car and I wasn't there. Awwww. Yeah, both cell phones from now on. I did all but 6 miles of the Marin Triathlon course. Here's the out and back ride from Friday.



On Saturday I got up at the crack of dawn to make it to the hotel by 8am for the fun ride. It was just a leisurely 11 mile ride over 2 hours, taking in the sights and country roads of Sonoma. I brought my own bike but tried to dress as normal as possible. The leader still kept apologizing to me for the ride being so leisurely. I kept telling him that's exactly what I wanted. The ride was slow, peaceful, and fun.

After the ride I changed and went to the spa area. I lounged and swam and relaxed until Mom arrived. We ordered lunch and ate in our lounge chairs. I had a Spinach Salad. Lest you think I was being "good", it had bacon, croutons, and Blue Cheese on it. But I did have them hold the yolks from the hard boiled eggs. It was yummy. Mom and I hung out at by the pool all day. For dinner we hit up Taqueria La Hacienda around the corner. I had a fish taco and a chicken taco. And tortilla chips. Too many chips. It was all very good.

This morning my training log had a 44 minute run. For some reason I got it in my head that it was a 48 minute run. Anyway, I decided to go the same route we did on the bike ride since it included a real nice path on part of it. I did a 5 minute warm up walk and then started jogging. I was intimidated by the prospect of 48 minutes but still feeling confident after my 40 minute run last week. After just a few minutes I felt pretty confident I'd finish. And I did. I jogged the whole time, 48 minutes. This is a picture of the bike path I jogged on (and rode on the day before). Pretty isn't it?

Me getting up to go run at 7:30 in the morning is like surreal world. My mom couldn't believe it. She had to remind me about the time when I was a teenager and she dumped a bucket of ice water on me to try to get me out of bed to go to school. I got up, flipped the mattress over, and went back to sleep. I have never been a morning person. So 7:30am? To jog? Surreal indeed. After the run Mom and I went to the brunch and I ate a lot! It was so good. I had an eggwhite crab/mushroom/asparagus omelet, bacon, smoked salmon, biscuits and gravy, fruit, etc, etc, etc. I was stuffed. I decided that I was going to try to eat just fruit until dinner.

Another day of lounging by the pool. At about 2pm I showered and made use of the Fitness Center to do my weight training. After that I took a yoga class. I've only ever taken a yoga class one other time. It was cool. Lots of stretching and some muscle use. I shook a lot though. I can see why people get into Yoga, I found myself thinking, "With practice, I could do better at this". After that I took a meditation class. I struggled to keep my mind clear. As in, it was nearly impossible. But the whole experience was very relaxing.

Mom left when I started weight training. So after the classes I headed back to the Taqueria for a repeat meal of 2 tacos. I had only eaten fruit since brunch at 9:30am. Drove home and have been relaxing reading blogs and playing with pictures.

Tomorrow is a 2-a-day with a 29 minute swim in the morning and a 58 minute ride after work. I'm already looking forward to Tuesday off. I've been doing pretty well on tracking until today. Meals like that brunch really throw me off. I get irritated trying to track all those different foods. So, I'm going to wipe out my 24 daily points and the 8 WPA's I had left plus 4 APs I earned. I hope that covers it. If not, oh well. I can only do what I can do, right? Can you tell I'm tired? I'm off to sleep. Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend too!!