Slow, Slower, Slow
Back in February, I posted about my to get serious about getting fit. Since then, it has been a case of “one step forward, two steps back.� I had started out strong. Working out 4-5 times a week, tracking my food, and even managing a few minutes of meditation here and there. But then my family suffered yet another tragic loss right after Valentine’s Day with the unexpected passing of my uncle. The entire family was in an utter state of shock. Family and friends from near and far descended upon the small Indiana town where I grew up to pay their respects. In all, over 400 people attended his funeral. Quite an incredibly heartwarming experience. But it was tough, not just because my uncle was such a benevolent and loving man, but because he was only 62. He had so much more love to give, so many more lives to touch.
My aunt’s home was filled with family, tears, laughter and food. Lots of food, most of which I couldn’t eat because I’m a vegetarian and Hoosiers haven’t yet figured out how to cook vegetables without meat. So, my only choices were breads and sweets. I’m not complaining. It was a free pass to drown my sorrows in brownies, cookies, mac & cheese, and cake. Such delicious cake! But seventy-two hours of traveling, eating, crying, family-bonding, more crying, more eating, more traveling and my body was beaten, bloated, and begging for some good nutrition.
However, I had to return to work the very next day where I was overloaded with reports to produce, an audit to prep for, and a board meeting to prepare. For nearly a month straight, I worked long hours, barely leaving my desk to get a drink or to eat. Once home, I was starving and didn’t have the patience to cook a healthy meal, so I just tossed a frozen dinner in the oven and snacked on popcorn, cookies, Easter candy, and whatever else would satisfy my ever-increasing hunger.
The other thing that screwed me up was the time change. You wouldn’t think that losing an hour would so adversely affect my energy, but there is statistical evidence that more people suffer heart attacks when we “spring forward� than any other time during the year, so clearly I’m not the only one who doesn’t react well to it. So, that missing hour put me in a stupor for two weeks. Yes, two full weeks during which I got no exercise because I couldn’t get up before the sunrise and had no energy to work out after work.
The thing is, I know these are excuses. There are plenty of people who persevere in their weight loss efforts under similar conditions. But you know what? It was one month. One month that I got off track. And the important thing is that I’m back on track. I think the lesson here is to give yourself a little slack from time to time, but to know when it’s time to get back to work. When it’s time to face the alarm clock blaring at 6am to get in your morning work out. When it's time to walk away from the cookies and cakes and once again embrace nutritious foods. When it's time to acknowledge that the only sure way to fail is to give up, and then don’t give up. Get up. Get going. It might be slow going, but it’s going. Slow, slower, slow. And that’s okay.
Ciao,
Lucie
My aunt’s home was filled with family, tears, laughter and food. Lots of food, most of which I couldn’t eat because I’m a vegetarian and Hoosiers haven’t yet figured out how to cook vegetables without meat. So, my only choices were breads and sweets. I’m not complaining. It was a free pass to drown my sorrows in brownies, cookies, mac & cheese, and cake. Such delicious cake! But seventy-two hours of traveling, eating, crying, family-bonding, more crying, more eating, more traveling and my body was beaten, bloated, and begging for some good nutrition.
However, I had to return to work the very next day where I was overloaded with reports to produce, an audit to prep for, and a board meeting to prepare. For nearly a month straight, I worked long hours, barely leaving my desk to get a drink or to eat. Once home, I was starving and didn’t have the patience to cook a healthy meal, so I just tossed a frozen dinner in the oven and snacked on popcorn, cookies, Easter candy, and whatever else would satisfy my ever-increasing hunger.
The other thing that screwed me up was the time change. You wouldn’t think that losing an hour would so adversely affect my energy, but there is statistical evidence that more people suffer heart attacks when we “spring forward� than any other time during the year, so clearly I’m not the only one who doesn’t react well to it. So, that missing hour put me in a stupor for two weeks. Yes, two full weeks during which I got no exercise because I couldn’t get up before the sunrise and had no energy to work out after work.
The thing is, I know these are excuses. There are plenty of people who persevere in their weight loss efforts under similar conditions. But you know what? It was one month. One month that I got off track. And the important thing is that I’m back on track. I think the lesson here is to give yourself a little slack from time to time, but to know when it’s time to get back to work. When it’s time to face the alarm clock blaring at 6am to get in your morning work out. When it's time to walk away from the cookies and cakes and once again embrace nutritious foods. When it's time to acknowledge that the only sure way to fail is to give up, and then don’t give up. Get up. Get going. It might be slow going, but it’s going. Slow, slower, slow. And that’s okay.
Ciao,
Lucie
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