Living in the How

After responding to a friend's blog with some incessant babbling, I decided to carry it out into my own blog.

These last several weeks have been packed full of painting, raking leaves, shoveling gravel, pulling weeds, cleaning a pool, and general running around associated with buying a foreclosed home. Each night I crawl into bed - muscles I never knew existed crying out for mercy. Then each morning I crawl out of bed in much the same state.

I find it odd that I never felt that way after my daily gym trips during the last 5 months - maybe it was time for a change of routine.

My focus has still been on exercising restraint, and I have been doing so-so. I am slipping in the eating department again. Still no fast food, soda, juice, or junk food. However, I have not been keeping to my eating schedule (put in place to try to keep me from unneeded snacking).

With the prospect of my husband finally coming home in two weeks, I started this week all geared up to make the next couple weeks really count. Join me in seeing how I have done so far!

Monday: Fail.
Tuesday: Fail.
Wednesday: Fail.

Why is this so hard? I think it is because I have lost my motivation due to lack of results. And by lack of results I mean the scale hasn't moved one iota.

When the hands of self-pity try to grab control of my mind, I have to remind myself HOW.

• HOW - do I feel?

I feel great! Energy, enthusiasm, drive to get projects finished...

• HOW - do my clothes fit?

Let's just say I am ready to dress up for Halloween as the Saggy Baggy Elephant when I put on my jeans!!

• HOW - do I look?

At the risk of sounded conceited, I look great! I am happy with what I see in the mirror. Ecstatic? Not yet. Ready to strut my stuff on the beach? Hardly. But I am happy - and I should be because I had an Awesome Artist design me :)

• HOW - do I feel?

You read it right, and yes I meant to type it twice. I don't mean it twice in the same way though - I want you to take this one in a more literal sense. Literally, I can feel muscle definition now! When I flex my arms, the wind sails under my arms are solid. You can almost knock on my legs like a door they are that hard (well, I said almost). If you take the time to pull back the final traces of pregnancy (aka the belly fat) you can even FEEL my abs!!

I read in a gossip magazine a tip while working out: feel the muscle you are working out with your hands. I tried it while doing the leg press and was impressed at the muscle I felt. It helped me mentally focus on what I was doing more, and felt like I got a more controlled work-out.


So that's my how and I am sticking to it. How are you living in the how?