Sweat is Sweet

Today marks two weeks since I committed to a healthier lifestyle. I would love to be able to write how superb I've been doing and how easy this whole "healthy lifestyle" is going to be. It's not easy. It's definitely simple. Exercise six days a week, eat a certain amount of calories a day, and watch the scale go down. It's true. It's all the mess in between. It's the being a human part that has me all messed up.

If I could take out the human factor, it would be a lot easier to just plug in the numbers and watch the pounds fall off the scale. Instead, I struggle daily with emotional eating. Eating because I'm bored, or failing to resist a nibble of this or that. I realize now, I have issues with food. I don't think my issues are anything out of the ordinary. The problem is I don't want to be ordinary. I'm your typical overweight American that has been telling herself, "Ya know, I really don't eat THAT much food." HA! I realize this whole process is going to take time. I'm beginning to understand that food isn't an enemy that needs to be devoured with such rapaciousness that my family is afraid I'll eat my plate.

Even though I'm still struggling with eating clean, I've been forcing myself to go to the gym no less than 5 days a week. When I walked in the doors today, dreading the shin splints I was about to experience, the lady at the front desk looked up at me, smiled and said, "You're doing so great. You're really dedicated this time. Keep up the great work." I smiled back and said, "I'm trying." What I should have said, was "Thank you for noticing." She truly made my day. She knows my membership number and simply punches it in the computer when I walk in the door. That makes me feel really good. I'm certainly marking down today as a good day.