Mad Muscles and Good Old Fashioned Willpower

In my last post I was excited after my first visit to a gym in probably at least a year. The next morning I wasn't so excited. Ouch! Mostly my legs hurt but my abs were also letting me know they weren't happy. I remembered that these things are always worse on the second day so I set my mind to dealing with the discomfort and walking funny for a couple of days. I'd gone to the gym on Monday and today is Thursday. I'm starting to get back to normal, but not there yet.

So since Monday I've been focused mostly on my eating habits. My willpower muscle was just as weak as the rest of 'em so I've been strengthening it this week by resisting temptation at every opportunity. I've resisted deserts and snacks at work almost daily. I've eaten bananas and apples instead (I kind of forgot about apples if you can imagine that). I had a chance to have oatmeal when I wasn't hungry and passed, even though I love it. Tonight we went out to dinner and I subbed roasted veggies for french fries. I tried to order something that wasn't too bad, but with restaurants these days you never know.

I've also had a few things I regret. I ate a handful of chips today at lunch that I didn't need, I had coffee with cream mid-morning when I usually stick to only my morning cup and I...wait, I can't think of anything else. Don't get me wrong, there have been a lot of less than good choices but nothing else I actually regret. I am going easy on myself at this point. I know if I get crazy now I won't last. I'm in for the long haul, despite not being able to think about the long haul without wanting to give up before I start. So my mental muscle, willpower, is getting some work. Will + Power. I like that.

Back to the physical. Tonight I took a walk after we got the kids to bed. Very leisurely, maybe around 40 minutes. I just mapped it and it looks like it was 1.8 miles or so. Anyway, the walk was really nice. The summer evening and some good music made for a great mental break too. It's easy to forget all the psychological benefits of exercise. My legs were hurting a bit and I got a weird pain in my foot that went away after a while, my shins also let me know that I'd better not push my luck. I didn't care how fast or slow I was walking, it was just about getting out there. Oh, and also about hoping I could somewhat offset what was probably a high calorie dinner.

So my first "weigh-in" is tomorrow. I'm tempering my expectations. I hope not to gain but have tried to prepare myself for that. The body can be a weird thing, I could be retaining water due to my sore muscles or who knows what. I think I would be ok with staying the same, and of course a loss would be nice. But if I learned anything in my losing 75 pounds it's that what happens on the scale is really a small part of the story. Let's hope I'm singing this same song tomorrow!

'night all!