Thursday, December 27, 2007

A Change is coming

“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”- King Whitney Jr.

Which of these are you, are you fearful, encouraging or confident? Our weight loss and fitness journey can take us through all of these emotions and often we can be stuck for a period of time in one of them.

Our ultimate goal should be to find a change as a challenge; an opportunity to make our body fitter, healthier and better. If we can recognize the process and embrace each step of it then all of the steps that get us from one level to the next won’t become so daunting.

I have to admit that right now I’m between fearful and encouraging. I’ve just started to lift heavy so that I can put on a few pounds of muscle and this means going against everything that I have been doing for the last 11 months. I’m eating more calories and with this I will put on some fat. It is terrifying, yet I know, that if I do it with healthy food that the fat will be minimal and I’ll be able to strip it off in a few month at which time beautiful, strong muscles will appear. However, as the scale goes up the fat girl emerges her ugly head and laughs at me. She is telling me that I have failed. Conversely, the phat girl is boldly shoving her aside and telling her that in the end she will win.

Change… embrace it.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

And she’s off…

I just came back from finishing the Las Vegas Half Marathon. This has been a culmination of 14 weeks of running, lifting weights and fueling my body like a machine.

The event was wonderful and I was able to share it with friends and family that traveled to come and watch me. I never would have thought that I could have completed such a feat. I suppose not that I thought I couldn’t just something I never thought of doing and as I was running at about the 12 mile I wondered if I could complete it. I knew I would but wasn’t sure if my legs would carry me through. Having this wonderful, fit and strong body is stimulating and knowing that I had trained for this made some of the discomfort bearable.

However, the strange thing was that on return I found myself sad or almost in a state of depression. I would have thought that the euphoria would continue for days or even weeks. It was if I had nothing else to look forward to. This goal has been my focus for so long that now I felt I had nothing.

So today I pulled out a 08 calendar and starting jotting down the rest of the years schedule. I have things planned through June of 08 and figure that by May I’ll have some more goals in mind for the balance of the year.

I ran across this quote from George Bernard Shaw and I think it sums up how I feel.

“I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's business on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment he has succeeded in his courtship. I like a state of continual becoming with a goal in front and not behind”


I don’t know that “dread” is quite the adjective that I’m looking forward but I think the fact that we should always be looking forward and not behind is accurate. Don’t be content in your current state continue to move forward.

I’ve also uploaded a couple more pictures from the LV race.