The New Year's resolution that stuck

You know how New Year's resolutions are. Especially the ones regarding exercise. We come out of the gate with our asses on fire, only to have petered out within a couple of weeks. If we're really seasoned at this NYR stuff, sometimes we stick it out til March. You hear the regular gym-goers complaining about the NYR peeps all the time because the treadmills and circuit machines have n00bs swarming all over them. Probably not even wiping them down when they're done. *shudder*

My NYR that stuck this year was a three-pronged approach. I resolved to start eating cleaner whole foods all the time, not just sometimes. And to quit hitting the drive-thrus on my way home from work. The latter was actually the biggest struggle of all. Who doesn't crave a Chik Fil A cookies n' cream milkshake, or a Big Mac, or Wendy's chicken sandwiches, at one time or another? But I've done it. The only reason I've been able to do it was with a whole lot of help.

You see.. I "see" someone. Yep. Part II of the NYR. To finally sort out why I put so much importance on food. To figure out why I can't resist the lure of the drive-thru. To help myself find the motivation for a permanent change. I have learned so much about myself, and what twisted and warped reasoning I had been using to justify bingeing on crap food. One of the latest little gems I have learned to keep myself on track is the idea that it is my job to protect myself from harm. I protect those I love from harm. I protect my beloved dogs from harm. Why not myself? Will one Big Mac harm me? No. Will eating it every day to excess cause harm? You betcha. *waits for Mcdonalds lawyers to find this paragraph* One thing I have learned is that we have become so detached from the beautiful and amazing piece of machinery that is our body. You would never think of putting sugar in the gas tank of your car intentionally. It won't run right! But we put all kinds of crap into our bodies every day that it doesn't recognize. Our bodies weren't meant to break down and use Twinkies, or margarine, or Ramen noodles - or high fructose corn syrup - probably the most evil processed "food" product of all. It's difficult, every time I prepare food or eat, to think to myself: "Am I protecting myself from harm by eating this?" And I'm sure it sounds boring. For the majority of the time, it is. I eat pretty much the same thing for breakfast every day. The routine is comforting for me. However, the flip side of this is that when I do allow myself to indulge in a treat, I enjoy it and savor it 100% more.

Part III of the NYR was for me to finally complete the Couch to 5k program. It's an awesome set of workouts geared toward training someone who's literally never run before, to someone who can respectably complete a 5k. I had started it numerous times and had always quit around week 4. However, this time it stuck. I can't tell you why, except that in my mind I made it absolutely mandatory that I complete the designated C25K workout every other day, without deviation, without fail, without excuses. I did finish (graduate - YEAH!) the 9 week program and continued to run every other day until late May. Then the lazies took over.

However I do have some new motivation to start running again and I did restart today. I jumped in to W5D1 of C25K this morning. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about how it would go. Envisioning pulled muscles, too-slow playlists, not having a clean sports bra or socks, I got it together and hopped on the treadmill. Much to my surprise it's like riding a bike. Or something. It's almost as if my body missed running. Another case of being sort of blind and deaf to the body's wants and needs.