How I'm Gonna Make It Happen

There’s only a couple hours left in 2014 and I’m perusing people’s new year resolutions thinking to myself “how am I going to stay on track in 2015?” Everyone has such lofty goals. Some want to lose 20 pounds (I’m part of this group) and others want to save enough money to buy a new house. Some folks want to go back to school and some want to learn a new trade.

I already touched on my New Year resolution but I feel like there’s going to be more to it than what I originally stated.

I’m going to kick the soda habit once and for all. Starting tomorrow, January 1, 2015, I’m just going to quit. This isn’t going to be difficult. We don’t keep it in the house and I wont be at work for the first five days of the year. That’s enough time for me to get past the caffeine headaches and the sleepy mornings.

But what I’m really looking to do means doing what I need to do as far as nutrition and physical activity every day. And that is a really huge thing to try to commit to. Every day? EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. No matter what. That’s really enough to make me vomit.

So here are a couple of individual things I plan on doing most days. Life will get in the way. I will need a night where I lay around and drink wine and not kill it at the gym. There will be days where the gym and a run will simply fall to the side because of other responsibilities. And that’s ok. But, generally speaking, these are going to be my top 5 ways to ensure success of my goals for 2015:

1.       I am not going to weigh myself.
This should be rather easy. The scale is already put away and I have no interest in seeing where I’m starting the year off. I’m instead taking weekly “progress photos” which will be a much better indicator of progress than some bastard number on a scale.

2.       I am going to eat for fuel and not for fun. I will eat because I’m hungry and not because I’m bored or needing a quick snack to make me feel better. Food is fuel – that’s it, that’s all. If I don’t want to steam some broccoli to eat then I’m not truly hungry. Period.

3.       I’m going to start each day fresh. Every day will be a new opportunity to eat the right things, do the right workout and to treat myself with kindness. One day at a time. No more of this “let me plan the entirety of my month and when I miss a workout or something derails, I’m going to go into a fit of panic” – that’s ridiculous and it makes me very tired. One day at a time planning.

4.       I’m going to list things my body CAN DO instead of the things it can’t. Trust me, the CAN list is a lot longer than CAN’T.  (I CAN run a marathon, I CAN squat 200lbs, I CAN nearly bench press my weight).

5.       I will not compare myself to others. Just because they are thinner/taller/prettier/whatever doesn’t mean that they have everything. There’s a lot more to me than my physical appearance or running pace. It’s time I give myself credit for all the things I am and not compare to only the things I can see.

I figure that  if I do these things, the rest will fall into place.

Cheers to a new year, everyone!  

What Do I resolve to do in 2015?

Ugh. Resolution time, again? What else can I promise myself next year that I'm going to absolutely do and then by the end of February feel like a total failure when I inadvertently do whatever it is I resolved not to do? What a miserable set up. With all the odds of the world against us every day, why not add another spike to the coffin? Not a big deal. It's kinda like that meme that's been floating around on Facebook/Instagram - "Why would I weigh myself when I could light myself on fire and then roll around in glass and feel exactly the same way?"

Here's a list of what I know:

• I ran a marathon this year. 
• I have become much stronger through not only running but weight lifting and various cross training such as Barre and Yoga.
• I have improved my overall endurance from not being able to run .25 of a mile when I first started to being able to run lots without stopping. 
• Running/sweating/lifting weights makes me feel GREAT. 

Despite knowing all of these killer, awesome things - I also know this: No matter how kickass I feel I'm doing, the digital number that pops up on my scale has the ability to shatter the floor I walk on. I mean destroy me. How is this even possible? I'll talk shit and put anyone in their place in a heartbeat if need be but somehow an object (that I purchased!) has the ability to slice me? This girl? The one with the loud mouth and excessive sarcasm? Yeah. It's basically more ridiculous than American Idol still airing on television. 

So, this year, I've decided to do something incredibly positive. I have resolved to not weigh myself in 2015. 

That's right - you heard me (well, kinda). I've put my scale away (the boo thang uses it) and it is out of sight and somewhat out of mind. I'm tired of the ridiculous bullshit I put myself through mentally and physically because of a number that should have nothing to do with my actual health.

I do the right things. I eat well, I exercise hard. I like to drink beer and have cake and that's absolutely okay. I'm not going to continue down this ridiculous path. If I eat something salty, the next day the scale is like "OH HAI, SHAMOO. WHERE YA BEEN?" And why should I allow some sort of horrific punishment for indulging? It's not like I wont drink a gallon of water the next day and add in some more reps to make up for it. Shit.


Long story short, THE SCALE IT OUT. I'm not going to say "no more sweets" because I really like sweets. I'm not going to say "no more carbs" because that's truly dangerous to everyone. I'm simply going to say "no more scale" because truthfully, it's proven to be the most dangerous to my health.

Oh, yeah. I ran a marathon!

SURPRISE!

I'm not dead. I didn't die after week #5 of training. I made it through all of the training and rocked my marathon! Well, by rocked I mean I finished and I had a great experience. I wont share my finishing time not because I'm embarrassed but because it simply doesn't matter. This race wasn't about finishing times or trying to prove that my speed is superior. I had a wonderful time and couldn't have really gone any better. I never hit The Wall where I questioned my sanity as to why I made this decision. I never felt like quitting. I never stopped smiling. That's really what matters the most for me. I did it. I accomplished this huge thing that I never thought I could until I did.

At the end I cried big, ugly tears. They gave me my medal, took my picture and I was off. It was like this dream had just happened. Totally in la la land for at least a day after. The recovery wasn't too bad and I'm moderately considering running another one in a couple years. For now...the goals change and the work continues.

The 2015 goal is to run every race in the Atlanta Track Club Grand Prix Series. Totally doable and most of them are free since I'm a member. Shorter distances and a faster pace. Let's see where this train goes!