Monday, February 12, 2007

Tale of the Scale, 2/12

No weight change this week. Wednesday as part of my session with Guido, we are doing an interim measure/weigh in to we really where I am. Today I only remembered to step on the scale at the end of the workout.. after I'd had 2.5 bottles of water. With what I sweat out, I'm not guessing how much of the weight was that water.

I've been thinking lately about this experiment. I was ready to get back into being physical when I joined 24 hour fitness last fall. I hoped for some physical changes, but never anticipated the mental changes that are happening. And these at the moment make all the work worthwhile, even if I'm only very slowly losing weight.

So what changes am I talking about?

#1. The first workout I had with Guido he finished by commenting that we would "first work on my posture and stability." Yeah, I almost threw my towel at him.. but I was way too tired to do so. Anyway, my posture is almost back to a good straight-backed appearance. This alone makes me feel more comfortable in my skin.. and more confident. Reasonable? Who cares.

#2. I suffered from lower back pain for several years. At times it kept me from walking. With the stabilization moves I do (almost every day), that pain has disappeared. Also other nagging physical problems (poor breathe control, stress incontinence) have improved with these moves.

#3. I am happier. Yeah, I still have "crash and burn" days but not as many. Most of the time my mood is considerably more positive than it's been in the past.

#4. I am beginning to take back old dreams that I'd given up.

  • I have wanted to hike the Grand Canyon for years, even though I truly HATE walking uphill. And, let's face it.. as deep as you go into the canyon, you must walk uphill to get out.. I'm looking at the calendar and thinking sometime in 2009 I'll do it. Anyone want to join me?
  • My shoulder is feeling strong enough that I may return to golfing.
  • I'm even considering a trip back to West Virginia (next year) for another white water trip. Probably the Cheat.. it's the easiest, but still fun.
  • I'm thinking about other fun activities, too. (salsa dancing? tennis?)
Are these (and probably more) good enough reasons to continue working even if I'm not losing all the weight that I originally started for? Yeah. For me it's worth it. My life seems a bit richer.. and I'm seeing possibilities for grand fun in the future.