"No Excuses, No Limits"

It's been 11 days since my last post & here's a quick rundown on what's been going on:


1. Last weigh day, May 11th, I was at 195. That was from just watching my food since Ryan & I didn't workout from May 2nd till May 13th. Not only didn't I gain, I got to stay in ONE-derland! My fear was that I would gain & be back in the 2's due to lack of movement, but I actually lost another 2 lbs. I was super excited! 
Ryan wasn't as lucky since he gained 2 lbs & was at 244. He was just as careful about his food but something somewhere added a little. I'm really hoping he'll see a smaller number on the 18th. I'm hoping that for me too!


2. We got started back at the gym. It was amazing how much I actually missed it! We went on the 15th & I did some treadmill, ab work & arm work. It was good to get back & be moving again. My sinus issues acted up a bit, a little residue left over from being sick, but I felt really great just for having gone & made it through more of a workout than I thought I'd be able to do. I learned a couple of things from this past few weeks:
A. Don't let fear of a previous injury stop you from trying to continue forward, within reason of course.
And 2. Just because you "take a break" from working out doesn't mean you have to give it up altogether for good & it doesn't mean you're going to automatically be back in the pitiful shape you were before you started the process. 
The injury part was that I had done something to both my legs & kept getting severe pain & knots in my back upper thighs right above my knees with pain running down my calves & into my ankles. After talking more with Audrey I think it could have been pulled hamstrings. I was really afraid of working out, especially walking. I guess though that the break I took helped them repair because though I've had some residual pain this past three days during & after a workout, it doesn't hang around nor does it hurt anything near what it did. So I'm taking it slow so I don't overwork them too much until they can be completely healed.
The other reason for the break was due to getting sick & hectic work schedules for both Ryan & I. I wanted to go back three nights before we actually did but things kept getting in the way. Finally I told Ryan that all this time we've made it a priority & due to this "break" it has gone down on the list & we needed to get it back up near the top. It is a choice to go after all & a choice that only we can make.
I know for me fear was part of what stopped me. I was worried about hurting, which makes it miserable to workout, & I was worried that I had gone back in the same shape I was in when I first started this process. I quickly learned that wasn't true. In fact, I think that I'm in better shape & the break just made my body & brain want to go more. I almost over did it tonight as the matter of fact. Too much incline on the treadmill & I could feel that pain starting. So I stopped. Wanted 2 miles but only got 1.7. That's okay though, at least I got that. Plus, I did some arm work. I was pretty happy with that. It was less than I wanted but in someways more than I thought I could do. 


3. The next to last thing that happened was actually a couple of things. First, Ryan & I had a "splurge" night. We went to the Mexican place I've been craving since starting this ordeal. I really wanted it & so did Ryan. What happened was amazing. I told Ryan that I was going to thoroughly enjoy it. That I'd probably feel guilty & miserable afterwards but I was going to enjoy it. But I didn't...feel guilty & miserable. I made up my mind to enjoy every second & every stinkin' bite of that food & I did. You know what happened? I walked out of that place feeling satisfied, craving gone & knowing that tomorrow I'd get right back on the "healthy lifestyle wagon". And I did. I learned that a splurge can happen & not be the blackhole of death to whatever plan you're on. For Ryan, it didn't taste as good for him. So his lesson learned was that even though you may crave it & it may look & sound amazing, the reality is that it may not live up to the expectations you have.
Even though we both got something different out of the experience they were both good lessons for us to learn & to learn from what the other experienced. I know now that even though I may decide it's okay to splurge it may not live up to my expectations. He knows he can splurge & not have it be healthy lifestyle death. 


4. Of course I'd go for 4 because anyone who truly knows me knows I HATE odd numbers! The last part of all this came from one of the stories I read the other day in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book I mentioned in an earlier post. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind & I think it's quite appropriate for where Ryan & I are & anywhere we go from here as well. It was written by a wife whose husband had been working out with his friend. She wanted to see what got her husband so wrapped up in the workouts & drove him so hard & made him want to keep going. So she went along to workout & to meet the friend. Turns out he had lost a leg & listening to him & his story of overcoming & seeing what he could do with one leg, which was more than a lot of people do with two, she got just as inspired as her husband.
This really struck me & made me think about how often I complain & grumble & grouse when I'm doing regular old daily things, let alone when I'm working out. It made me realize how much worse off things could be & makes me more thankful & grateful to God for where I am & what I have.
His motto was, "No excuses, no limits". I've decided to use that as well. I don't think he'd mind.