Focus on the Positive

Today when I got home from the gym I sat in the car for several minutes not wanting to move because it was snowing and I knew moving was going to hurt.

The exercises I went through yesterday didn’t seem too bad but I did push myself a bit and having the trainer there helped with the motivation.  I find I like to be challenged and pushed, plus I think that’s the only way I’m going to get better.  The unfortunate side effect of all that challenge and push is I am ridiculously sore today, which I forget about until I stand up or move my arms.

I decided I needed to go in at least for a couple miles then I can strength train tomorrow.  I was dressed and ready to go yet almost convinced myself to stay home today because I was sore.  I finally made it out the door, pulled up to the gym to discover a full parking lot, so I once again almost convinced myself to just head home but thankfully I made it out of the car and into the gym.

My reluctance to go to the gym this morning just reminded me once again that this whole lifestyle change thing is not easy.  I feel like I have many of the good habits down but I still have struggles and sometimes when I’m not seeing the results I want all my struggles are exasperated and I begin to question myself.  I think I got myself in trouble watching infomercials this morning where they highlight the extreme success stories so I began to see people who had been working out not as long as I have but had lost tons of weight so I began to go, what am I doing wrong?

I’m in week 11 of working out and have lost very little weight.  This afternoon I had to remind myself that I am working toward healthy with weight loss as a side benefit;however, it wouldn’t hurt to refocus some of my energy and actually ask myself what I might be doing wrong.  I hate doing it (I don’t know why but we all have things we hate doing) but I am going back to the food diary because it did help me eat better.

Enough with the negative…..

On the bright side I’ve worked hard to develop new habits even if I sometimes doubt my habits are fully developed. I struggle to get going some days but I can’t imagine going any longer than 2-3 without working out.  I eat more than I should sometimes but I can’t imagine going back to the way I was eating before.  I’ve lost 4 inches overall and my weight has been steady so I’m not gaining weight, which was one of my big concerns when I quit working.

I continue to focus on the positive and instead of dwelling on the negative I choose to reevaluate my progress to figure out what I can do to see the kind of change I want in my life.  As corny as it may seem I truly believe there is power in positive thinking.  My negative moments spent questioning myself are fleeting.  I’m finding that by focusing on the positive aspects rather than the negative I’m finally starting to enjoy my life.