88 Day Challenge: One Month Down!

Do you know when the worst time to weigh yourself is? Sunday night after dinner. If I cared about what the scale said, I’d be very disappointed. But, I don’t… and I’ll tell you why: because of the pisiform bone of my carpals. HUH? The pisiform bone is the protruding bit on the outside of the base of your wrist. When I start to trim down, this bone becomes sharper and more prevalent. Additionally, my knee bones become more pronounced. For those of you who have never struggled with your weight, these things probably mean nothing. But, if you have ever struggled with being “soft” then having sharp edges is a cool thing. Re/discovering parts of yourself is weird. To be re/introduced to things that are intrinsically you is a funky feeling, but I delight in it. I love feeling and being aware of my own strong muscles. As my hand brushes past my hip when I roll over at night in bed, I can feel all the strength and potential in fought-for muscles. Its a good feeling.

So, there are 58 days left in the 88 Day Challenge! 30 days down. I have worked out 12 out of the past 14 days. I’m pretty tickled with that. Not as much weight training as I would have liked, but more than I had done the two weeks before that. So, onwards and upwards. Additionally, I have logged some serious miles. In the past two weeks, I have walked/run roughly 46 miles. For all you super runners, like my cousin Elizabeth or my friend Whitney, 46 miles is like nuffin’… but for me? That 46 miles, yo! I become pretty smug after a workout; mainly towards the alterna-universe Leigh who made excuses and didn’t work out. I throw that lady some shade!

Food wise? Meh. I did pretty well. I didn’t go to the grocery store and buy on-sale candy after Halloween, so that was a minor victory. I’ve been living pretty much cookie-free for the past few weeks… and even found myself having some left over Brussels sprouts as a snack today. Admittedly, they had bacon, garlic, and pecorino cheese sprinkled into them… but it sure beats nom-ing on some Oreos! Though, that being said, I had an interesting conversation with a lady on the elevator this past weekend that has resonated with me since then. I had just come in to the building lobby, sweaty from running, and I met a neighbor who was also waiting for the elevator. She had a box of a dozen donuts. She looked at me sheepishly and gave me some justification about why it was okay for her to have some donuts. “I’ve been dieting for months, and my kids will eat half of these, etc…” To which I replied, “You? You are an adult. If you want a donut, then lady, have yourself a donut and don’t feel bad about it.” It made me stop and think about how warped our relationship with emotions and food is. Mine is equally as warped, but knowing is half the battle, right? Justifying eating something you want is for the birds. On Friday night, after a killer run, I was craving a piece of cake from our local diner. I own it. I went and got a piece… and ate it over the course of two days. I loved every bite and reveled in it’s awesomeness; not feeling remotely bad about it. I am an adult and wanted a piece of cake, so I got some. Instead of feeling mad and deprived because I denied myself something I wanted, I let all that go and just had a piece of cake. Because that is also something I am learning… the crappy feelings, the negativity, the pettiness, all that stuff just weighs you down and gets you no where… it just eats up so much energy and ain’t nobody got time for that.

So, now we embark upon November. My goals for the next two weeks are to continue to get my move on, boost the weight training again, and pay a leeeeeeeeeetle more attention to what I’m eating. In all these things I am already doing well– my clothes are loose and my chin is becoming more defined– but in these next two weeks, imma kick it up a notch! Can’t wait to report back in two weeks. There is a movement on Facebook where during the month of November you post one thing a day for which you are grateful. I’m not good at keeping up with stuff like that. But, let me say one thing. I won’t lie… there were a few days when I felt like hanging on the couch and not moving, but knowing that I was accounting to you guys made me throw my running shoes on. So, today, I am thankful for the support and motivation! Thanks, y’all!

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