Just me :)

May 20, 2013 — bible, church, diet, exercise, goals, God, journal, nutrition, running, spiritual, walking, weight loss

(Me on Sunday mornings when I have my weigh-ins )

While I was running I started to think about how great it feels to see improvements!  I am not a fast runner…more a walker and jogger.  My times are slow but today I improved by a minute and a half.  It is so rewarding to see that after all the hard work I have been putting in, it’s finally starting to show.  I have a friend that reminds me it’s not about getting to the end, but about the journey on your way there.  How true that is!!  So many times we are in a rush to quickly reach a goal, and seldom do we take a moment to appreciate the baby steps it took us to get there.

I want to appreciate every step in this journey.  I am setting small goals for myself and celebrate when each goal is met. I am trying to drop weight and get in the best physical condition I can achieve.  I gained around 10 lbs after my back surgery a couple of years ago.  Before that I was around 20 pounds overweight.  So you can say I have a total of 30 pounds I would like to say good-bye to.  So far I am down 8 pounds and pat myself on the back for doing so 🙂 I am logging my food daily using livestrong.com “My Plate” calorie tracker (livestrong website). I have it set up as an app on my iPhone and iPad and I am trying to stay within a 1200 – 1500 calorie range: 1200 for the days I don’t train and 1500 for the times I do.  This seems to be working well for me and I will continue on this path until I hit a plateau.

This weight loss journey is going to be a memorable one.  On top of  logging in my workouts,  food and blogging  here on WordPress, I am keeping a journal.  I try and write daily about my day and my feelings.  I read that keeping a journal helps you to clarify your thoughts.  I have found that it is helping me stay focused on my goals.  I also write down the things I have to be grateful for, and notice that my mood is elevated by doing so.

Besides the challenge of  physically improving myself, I am also working on myself spiritually and emotionally.  I believe in God.  I was raised as a Catholic and attended parochial schools all the way through high school.  I drifted away from Catholicism and later in my adult years (and very recently) found a Baptist church I connected with.  Along with attending services, I have come across a wonderful app from YouVersion that I use daily.  Here is the website YouVersion.  This is an awesome site and app if you want to read the bible, devotionals, and other spiritual material.  They have several plans to choose from and the best part is it’s free!   I have chosen several plans to read from and make sure it’s the first thing I do every morning.  It’s a great way to start the day!

So that leaves me with the emotional  part.  Probably one of the hardest parts to deal with….trying to love myself.  It’s so easy to put ourselves down and I have mastered this action.  I mean, I know I am a good person and all, but with my weight gain my self confidence and self esteem have just taken a dive. However, my workouts are a  godsend!  I can actually feel my self confidence and self esteem starting to peak around the corner.  Not fully there, but I can finally see a light at the end of the long dark tunnel.  Not a bright one, rather dim, but I know I am headed in the right direction and it feels good 🙂

So with all that being said, I will exit by posting my workout for today below.  Hope everyone is having a blessed day!

This is an iFit workout, using the X9i treadmill.

Bright Angel Trail, Part 2

3 Miles  50:58  16:59/pace  (Slow workout due to injury)

Average HR: 128 bpm        Max. HR: 157 bpm

Picture above is my course outline.  Picture just below is how Google Maps gets their views of the hiking trails I am doing.  I wonder how much that thing weighs on his back?  I was able to complete this workout all in street view, with beautiful images of the Grand Canyon.