Yesterday my friend Suzie and I made a day of going to the gym and then shopping. Suzie needed to pick up a few things at Target and I had a 30% off coupon from Kohl's, as well my $15 Dress Barn rewards coupon that was about to expire. I was originally hoping I could use it for new pants, but since I am doing so well I decided to wait in the hope that soon I will need a smaller pants size anyway.
Soon... not later.
And I actually believe it to be real this time.
This past week was a full work week since coming back from our winter vacation and it was a test of normalcy for what the majority of my school year is like. I would like to brag about what I wonderful morning person I am. That I jump out of bed the moment my alarm goes off, brush my teeth, shower and get dress, with plenty of time to dry my hair, put on make up, eat a full breakfast and make my lunch for the day. Maybe I wake up early enough to go to the gym or run before work! All of this with a smile on my face.
In reality, my alarm goes off and I hit the snooze button telling myself I only need five more minutes. This repeats about 4 times before I wake up, swear, jump out of bed and hop in the shower. I frantically wash my hair, brush my teeth and throw on clothes. I attempt to at least put on some eye makeup and dry my bangs so they do not cowlick or curl randomly. The rest of my hair dries by the assistance of the heater in my car and perhaps an open car window. Lipstick is applied at stop lights or quickly in the parking lot of my school.
My husband assists by preparing my coffee for me and if I made a lunch the night before (instead of telling myself I'll make it in the morning), I grab it and maybe grab some fruit or a breakfast bar to eat in the car (if I remember during my frantic rush). I then drive to school hoping my wet hair doesn't snarl and that I avoid dumping coffee on myself.
Lovely, right? I am jealous of people who can wake up and actually have some down time before having to get ready for work. My husband is one of those. He learned early on in our relationship that attempting to wake me up will involve his sweet wife turning into a banshee mountain lion who screams, growls and roars in her attempts to scratch his eyes out. He knows that I need to wake up on my own.
Looking back on my week, I realize how much my morning routine affects my calorie count for the day. On the mornings that I grabbed a breakfast and had a premade lunch, my calorie count for the day was lower and I wasn't hungry. No desire to snack and no stabby feelings developed as the day came to a close. On the mornings where I was a total mess, (no or little breakfast, no lunch or crappy school lunch) my calories would actually be high or even over my limit due to unbeatable snacking urges and less desire to workout.
It is only thanks to exercising that not all my calories were over on those days. Luckily, those days are the minority and not the majority. Which brings me back to shopping / working out with Suzie.
Suzie is not only one of my closest friends, she is also my work out buddy and motivator. We convince each other to work out when we really do not want to. Thanks to our puppies becoming doggy bffs, we also have built in running partners that need their energy run out of them. We are a great team. Yesterday Suzie convinced me to workout and we decided to make it a day and add our shopping trip in.
My favorite thing lately about working out is how I am able to now burn more calories in the same amount of time. I am able to do more and run more than I have since I started working out. I have been committed to counting calories and working out and eating healthy portions of healthy foods for 13 days now. It may seem like a small amount of time, but it is the longest I committed myself without ever missing a day or stopping. So I decided to award myself.
Yesterday I used my gift card from Christmas (thanks mom!) and my coupons to buy a beautiful new fancy purse (fancy = not a $5 clearance purse from Target) and earrings. I am to scared to buy clothes right now, so I wanted to accessorize. Dress up my ears a bit in practice for when I do have to buy brand new clothes. It felt good. My new plan is to celebrate my achievements with little rewards. Normally in the past I would just insult myself into a depression for not being as good as I think I should be. Since that didn't work, I am determined to stay positive. Even when the day comes that I have to fight and slay the PCOS dragon, I will stay positive. That adventure however, is for a different blog post.
I was debating moving my weekly weigh in day to Sunday, but since I really started this diet on a Wednesday, I am going to stick to Wednesday as the actual weigh in day. I am forcing myself not to became a slave to the scale and not to constantly obsess over the number. I'm only set up to lose two pounds a week, so any more is a bonus. If I stick to what I am doing and the number doesn't change, I refuse to get mad.
This blog is a great place for me to pep talk myself. My advice to anyone reading: remember to take the time to be your own cheerleader. As great as it is to have others cheer you on, it means nothing if you can't pump yourself up.
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