Pushing myself forward
I heard someone say once that it isn’t motivation that gets you through your weight loss journey, it’s perseverance and determination.
This week, I experienced both.
Monday was quite a day. I woke up late, got the oldest to school late, and forgot my headphones at home (discovering this only after I was halfway to the gym). The perfect recipe for me to say… “Forget it.” At least, for that day. And I almost did. *Almost*. But something inside of me wouldn’t let me quit even for a day. I pushed myself and convinced myself that getting to the gym and working up a sweat is exactly what I needed. Once there, I dropped the kids off at daycare and my youngest was. not. happy. He gave a gut-wrenching “mommy-don’t-leave-me” cry and I *almost* said “Forget it”. But I didn’t. I made myself march up to the gym and select a treadmill. Mondays are busy days at the gym so the equipment was slim-pickins’. I chose an older machine near the back of the room. It was kind of herky-jerky and I wasn’t quite sure it was up to snuff. I got on it and wasn’t happy with it. For the first 15 minutes, I had myself convinced that I would *only* do 35 minutes on the treadmill and then go home. I had reached my limit of Murphy’s Law for the day and was feeling kind of cranky.
But then… 20 minutes into the workout I began to get into it. I kind of mentally slapped myself back into a better mindset (the exercise helped quite a bit with that though). I mean, life isn’t always going to hand you a golden treadmill, right? By the end of my time on the treadmill, I was lifted out of the funk and back into my zone. I finished my workout on the elliptical and a sweaty, happy me emerged at the end. A funny thing though…. toward the end of my workout a group of ladies came in and started arguing over who would get which treadmill next. I guess I wasn’t the only one having an off-day. 
On Tuesday, my workout regime resumed without a hitch. It kind of erased the memories of the case of the Mondays that I had the day before. Then, I weighed in and lost a total of 2.4 pounds! I felt vindicated in my decision to stay the course. It was an awesome feeling!
I proved to myself that perseverance and determination really does win out in the end.
On another note, I took the kids outside to play a little today and wished that we had one of those outdoor fireplaces to warm up with!
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congrats on the perseverance morphing into motivation, and on the 2.4 lb loss! some days we have to fake it til we make it, seems like, and you did!
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Isn’t it funny how our minds can really play a role in how far we go and what we decide to tell our bodies to do? I think a lot of it is mental. If you can get past the mental part, you are clean sailing from then on out.
I’m glad you turned a cranky day into a good one. I know how hard it is to leave your preschooler when they are crying. My four year old has done that before and it’s so gut-wrenching! Good for you for pushing through.
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You did a great job on determining to do what you knew was good for you. I love this post!!
Exercise really is a wonderful mood booster. I never dreamed that I would every enjoy exercise, but I sure do now!
Have a great day!
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Good for you for sticking it out! I totally agree – determination and refusing to back down is what wins this battle. Keep up the great work, because lots of folks are out here cheering you on!
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[...] morning went well unlike last Monday. The gym was also relatively quiet. It made me wonder if a mass of people dropped their New [...]