All or nothing

The past week hasn’t gone the way I’d wanted it to, ideally.

 

I only made it to the gym twice this week. I did exercise the other three days, though–I did the Leslie Sansone 1 mile “easy” walk on Wednesday, the 2 mile brisk walk on Thursday, and the 1 mile again yesterday, and added five minutes to it, so that it would be at least 25 minutes total. I love Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds videos. If you are unfamiliar with them, they are a walk at home workout, using four moves: marching in place, side steps, knee lifts and kicks. The videos I have come with a “stretchie band” for upper body work that you do while still marching in place. It is a simple concept, but the videos still give a good workout because you are moving to the beat of the music (which increases as you go), and using muscles that you normally would not use while simply walking. Despite the fact that the one mile video is only about 18 minutes or so with stretching, and I am used to doing 40-45 minutes of cardio a day, it was still a good workout for me. The 2 mile one was definitely much more brisk than I am used to walking (it is essentially a 4 mph pace), but I did it and finished it–and I haven’t been able to do that video in a long time.

 

One of the hardest things about losing weight is the mental aspect of things.  I’ve mentioned it before, and I will surely mention it again, because really, it is much more complex than someone who has not struggled with their weight could possibly imagine.  I didn’t get to the gym like I wanted to, but I did workout, and that’s a lot more than I would’ve done before. Still, I ended up feeling a little down. Why? The “All-or-Nothing“ mindset.  Have you ever said this to yourself?

 

“I already blew it by eating _______, I might as well have enjoy myself the rest of the day.  I’ll start again tomorrow.”

 

 

I’ve done it. Chances are, you have, too.   For me, it manifested this way: Even though I exercised every day , it wasn’t what I usually did. Because it wasn’t as much as I usually do, it wasn’t good enough.  I should have been thrilled that I did some form of exercise; it’s much more than I would’ve done two months ago! You see, the all-or-nothing mindset is really a form of perfectionism in disguise. Because you don’t perform perfectly  (or in my case, to whatever standard you have set for yourself), you just chuck it all in the garbage. (Or at least you feel like it.) The idea of a perfectionist mindset holding us back is addressed in the book, Body Clutter, by Maria Cilley and Leanne Ely. Otherwise known as “the FLYlady”, Maria talks about how being a perfectionist holds us back from living, from changing and losing weight, because the soundtrack in our mind repeats,

 

“If you can’t do something right, don’t do it at all.”

 

While I am not a fan of doing things halfway, the idea that something has to be done in a specific manner in order for it to count has seriously kept me from progressing in this journey for fitness.  Should I lift weights first, or do cardio? Lift heavy, lift light? Should I eat before I work out, or not? I become so paralyzed by all the options, and figure if I’m not doing it “right”, then I may as well  just not do it.  BAD thinking. Something is always better than nothing. To succeed in this endeavor, I have to learn to keep my eyes on my successes, and not my (perceived) failures.

 

Despite the fact that my journey will be long, here are a few of the triumphs I’ve already experienced:

 

8 weeks ago:

• Could only do 10 minutes on the treadmill. Walked at 2.2 mph. 2.5 was considered a fast pace for me. Any time I would increase my speed, my ankles, shins, and the sides of my lower legs  would hurt.
• Only lasted 7 minutes on the elliptical. Did not get above 100 rpm.

Today:

• Was on the treadmill for a total of 30 minutes.  2.5 is now my warm-up pace. Was cruising along at 2.7-2.8 mph, with occasional bursts of 3.0. Shins and ankles no longer hurt.
• Did the elliptical for 20 minutes, which is five minutes less than I normally do. Am able to go much faster, and at much higher resistance.

Truly,  I thank God for this progress!!

Lately I have been grooving to this song off of Mercy Me’s new album. I really love the lyrics, and it reminds me to just keep moving!! (The song’s called, “Move.” Imagine that!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmUDDxflt6o

I’m not about to give up
Because I heard you say
There’s gonna be brighter days
There’s gonna be brighter days
I wont stop, I’ll keep my head up
No, I’m not here to stay
There’s gonna be brighter days
There’s gonna be brighter days

I just might bend but wont break
As long as I can see your face

When life wont play along
And right keeps going wrong
And I cant seem to find my way
I know where I am found
So I wont let it drag me down
Oh, I’ll keep dancing anyway

I’m gonna move (move)
I’m gonna move (move)
I’m gonna move [gonna move]

Ive got to hold it steady
Keep my head in the game
Everything is about to change
Everything is about to change

This burdens getting heavy
But I’m not about to cave
Everything’s about to change
There’s gonna be brighter days