TOPS Week 7

Have you ever looked back on a situation, maybe days, weeks or even months later and wonder, "WHAT were you thinking?!?!"

That's me. Yesterday. 

I had just come back from the gym and had my "Aha! moment . As I sat in front of our woodstove after showering, I could tell my body had that aching feeling one has after pushing a little harder than normal. It felt oh, so good. 

I had to sit back and reflect on the last time I felt like this and I realized that I couldn't recall. It had been so long that I don't remember the last time every muscle in my body aches in a way that felt productive. 

Instead of staying in "Negative Nancy" land, I had to quickly turn those thoughts into future motivation. I want to keep feeling this way. I want forward progress. I want to look back in 6 weeks and see how far I've come instead of what I could have done. 

There have been a number of factors getting me to this point, but today I want to thank the ladies of TOPS. These weekly meetings are the accountability I have needed. Our current president does a fantastic job of giving motivational, inspiring, encouraging, and informative meetings every week. I walk away on Thursdays feeling ready to tackle whatever may come in the days ahead. It's not that I'm learning anything new necessarily, but it's a constant reminder of what I already know and have buried deep inside so I don't have to feel guilt over living an unhealthy lifestyle. Each meeting brings that knowledge to the forefront and forces me to deal with what I'm doing or not doing with that information. I've needed this, and God provided it to me. 

This week I lost 2.2 pounds. I've been able to continue all the healthy choices I made in weeks past and added in walking/running to my routine. Isabel and I went to the gym 4 days this week. Our first day was our base. We walked/ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes. We made note of our distance and the next visit we have to improve that distance within the 30 minute allotted timeframe. If we don't hit our distance, we have to walk/run until we do. 

I've had moments of major disappointment this last week. The main one being disappointment in the fact that I'm even having to go through this again. Why did I let myself go so long? I mean, I know the couple of events that began my spiral downward, but why couldn't I get out of my head long enough to recognize what was happening and get back on track?  Knowing this will help me to fight through when it happens again.

Here's a sample of some of the yumminess I've been cooking recently. Adding more vegetables to every meal has created some major deliciousness. 😋❤️