Today is National Running Day. So funny to me that I even know that, let alone that I rearranged my tapering schedule so that I could run today! For those of you who don't know, the week or so before a big race (my first half-marathon is Sunday...aaaah!), you are supposed to cut back (taper) your miles, to give your muscles a chance to rest and fully recover. I was supposed to do 2 miles yesterday and 2 tomorrow, but I skipped yesterday so that I could participate in National Running Day today. I have met so many incredible people on FB running groups...such supportive, positive, knowledgeable, funny people! I truly feel like I'm part of this huge community, and today was our day to celebrate by going out and running...so I did!
After my run I headed over to WW. Today was my first weigh-in of the month, the one that "counts." Since I have a note from my doctor, my goal weight is 150 (the highest WW would let me go without a note was 146.) I knew I was nowhere close to 150, so I wasn't worried about having to pay. However, I lost 4.6 lbs last week, which is a HUGE number. I also ended the week at -20 points (whoops!) I hadn't weighed myself at all this week, so I really had no idea what the scale would say, but I figured I was due to gain something. When the receptionist told me that I'd lost a pound, I looked at her in amazement. Then I did some quick math in my head, leaned over to her and asked, "So I'm in the 130's??" She said yep, you're 139.8. It was at that point that I started clapping! The last time I was in the 130's was on March 16, 2012, when I weighed exactly 139.8. That is almost 27 months ago. I've been close at times, but I honestly thought that I would never see that 3 again. But I did...it happened today.
Recently I had some friends ask me to please not lose anymore weight. I want to make it very clear that no one needs to worry about me losing too much weight. I had French toast with peanut butter mousse for breakfast, and 2 slices of pizza for dinner. However, my lunch was a salad, my snack was an all natural fig bar, and everything was entered into my tracker. I also ran this morning and did yoga tonight. It's all about balance for me now. It's not so much that my eating habits have changed drastically over the past year or two. Rather, I've increased and varied my activity, and I keep very close track of what I'm eating, and what I'm burning. It's just math really, and it's working.
It's also helped me incredibly to put the focus on strength, flexibility, stamina and consistency, rather than weight. The fact that I was clapping on the scale makes it obvious that the numbers still matter to me, but the pride I feel comes more from what I'm able to accomplish than from how little I might weigh on any given day. I also want you all to stop and think about my weight. I am 5'4" tall, and weigh 139.8. If you just heard those numbers, I don't think you'd think of someone at their goal weight, or of someone happy with how she looks. I think we've all been led to believe that, in order for a 5'4" woman to look fit, she needs to weigh 120 lbs. That is just not true. There are so many factors that play into how much you should weigh to look and feel good. Once I realized that, the number lost a lot of power over me. I have absolutely no problem telling anyone who asks how much I weigh. That number is just a number. If I am healthy, happy, and comfortable in my own skin, then it should not matter. It still does, but it's power over me is only a small fraction of what it once was. I'm in control now, not it.
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