On Fitness
I took about a week and a half off of both my exercise routine and my regular diet. We stayed at an all inclusive resort for the honeymoon, and I won't deny that I splurged. Me + Buffet = So Stuffed I Was Nearly Sick. And that was almost once a day. Plus, the drinks. I mean, you're sitting poolside. It's pretty much required that you order a Mai Tai, right? Or 2 or 3.
The time off was both glorious and disgustingly decadent. There's nothing like a week of splurge to remind you of how much you love your healthy body and regular routine. I really thought it would be much harder to get back into the swing of things than it has been. It's been a relief to find that, yes, things are a little harder than they were before I went on vacation, but I can still keep up. Somehow I expected my muscles to turn to flab overnight.
So, here's the deal: I lost weight when my now-husband was in Iraq for six months and I was alone in a city where I knew almost no one so had nothing to do but work out. And then I had a few weddings in which I had to order dresses months in advance so had to keep my weight down. For the past year, my entire focus has been After My Wedding, when I knew I would have no reason to keep my weight down and could live as happily pudgy as my heart could bear.
But the strange thing is that during that time I've found that I'm really happy when I keep my weight down. For one thing, I feel better. Even 10 lbs. heavier, I would wake up feeling like an old woman. My back always hurt. For another, I'm really loving meeting new body-related challenges. I've never ever considered myself a runner and probably never will. I HATE running. It's the most boring form of exercise ever invented. And yet, somehow lately I find myself choosing the treadmill over other forms of exercise. It's the fact that it's getting easier. Before I went on vacation, I very nearly ran 5 miles in 54 minutes (down from 60 minutes), except that in the last minute I got the most excruciating charlie horse I'd ever experienced. I actually had to press the emergency stop button, which was rather embarrassing, but the fact that I was that close to a new best time was enough to keep me pushing.
Today I ran 1.5 miles in 14:04 (down from 18 minutes), and I am super excited about it. My goal is to run it in under 12 minutes, hopefully by the end of the year. I love meeting new best times! I can see why people get addicted to running. And I'm surprised to find there are so many ways to challenge myself.
I'm also finding ever new challenges in yoga. If you've never tried yoga and think that yoga is full of relaxing stretches, "Not so fast, my friend," as Lee Corso would say. Holding athletic poses longer and trying more advanced techniques keeps me coming back for more. Today for the first time ever, I pulled myself into a headstand. You feel it in your abs, and knowing that your abs are strong enough to get you in position is a heady feeling.
My one weakness is food. I'd been looking forward to getting to spend more time cooking and baking now that I don't have to spend all my spare time planning a wedding. Sadly, the Husband is on a new calorie-restricted diet, which means I don't want to be evil and make a bunch of baked goods to tempt him out of his Goodly Mode. But the benefit of this situation is that it challenges me to find healthy dinner menus to keep me on track, too. I do have to work off all the weight I gained from the Honeymoon to keep reaching new goals.