I know it has been a couple of weeks since my last post but I wanted to thank everyone who responded to me. Your words of encouragement were appreciated and I am thankful for those who shared their own stories and struggles.
As a result of my last blog post, I hid my scale. I decided I didn't need it anymore. Or I could do without it for a period of time. I started thinking about it after I posted my blog but then hearing from everyone made me think even harder. What finally put me over the edge was one morning when I was putting my running jacket on heading out for a run.
I bought this jacket two years ago. It's a New Balance winter running jacket and I love it. It is very warm, sometimes too warm for certain days, but I digress. I put that jacket on, looked in the mirror and it fits the same as it did the day I bought it. So the numbers on the scale may be rising but my body isn't changing. I then took a look at my closet, clothes I bought three years ago I am still wearing, so I decided at that moment my scale needed "a time out".
Last week I had a "new patient" doctor's appointment. Since moving and getting new health insurance I felt it was time to find a new doctor. Of course I hate these appointments, it's like a first date that you don't want to be on! You have to share, with this total stranger, every medical condition and surgery you have ever had. And I have found through the years that when I share that I am a marathoner and a triathlete, the number of hours and days that I train the nurses and doctors always give me a look like they don't believe me.
I am happy to share that this last first date, oh I mean appointment, went much better than I could have hoped for. We talked a lot about my past conditions, surgeries, and my struggle with the scale. I shared that I workout/train religiously and I record my food every day. I didn't get any strange looks and I think they believed me. The one piece of advice the doctor shared was that I needed to increase my calorie intake!
This made me laugh, which I did to myself, but there is a reason why I laughed. As soon as the appointment was done I called my friend Mary Lou. ML is a dietician and a dear friend who has been telling me for years that I was not eating enough. So taking the advice of the doctor and ML, I will be increasing my calorie intake to see how my body reacts.
I head back to the doctors in three months and at that time we all know they will put me back on their scale to get all the "important" numbers and we will see how this all goes. As I have shared before, for the past 10 weeks I have committed to a strength training regimen that on some days has kicked my ass but I have felt great as a result. I never thought I would commit to such a workout and I look forward to see how far I can push myself. Between the increased calories and the continued strength regiment, I plan to be unstoppable (fingers crossed and saying some prayers).
I often find myself looking at life using tunnel vision. You look in the mirror and only see the negatives not the positives. Life is a marathon, you don't get out of bed one morning and say I am going to run 26. 2 miles today. You work towards that start line and head to the finish line. I need to work on reminding myself I am a work in process but there is a lot of good there. We all have goals and there are many start lines to look forward to that eventually bring us to the finish line. Thank you my friends for your support! You get by with a little help from your friends!!
