Checking in...

So, my week off is coming to an end... I actually am pretty proud of myself for not letting my days off from work and the gym go to waste. And even though I still have the weekend, I will say that I didn't wreak havoc on my overall fitness goals. To recap...

- Sunday and Monday. I worked the afternoon (1-11p) shift. And even though work had it's ordinary frustrations, I managed to be efficient and get out of there almost on time. Truth be told, I actually stayed later at work just chatting with my friend who was just coming on. So, fairly good nights at work relatively speaking.

- Tuesday. I had to teach FCM (my small group class for junior med-students), which meant sitting through them practice doing histories and physical exams on patients who agreed to spend an hour with a med student. These are usually painful to sit through, but I found myself thinking about how special our volunteer patients are -- they answer a billion of personal questions and then sit through what is usually not the smoothest of physical exams, with the only goal of giving med students practice. I decided to write one of them a thank-you note.
After FCM, I took a spinning class with a friend from work. It was a lot of fun, but OUCH! I actually had a bruise in a rather unfortunate location. But I was so proud that I made it through the class. And I even got props from the instructor!

- Wednesday. Wednesday was a rainy, yucky day. The kind of day that you just want to stay in bed. My car was in the shop (my "check engine light" kept coming on intermittently"). I greatly underestimated how hard it was raining and I decided to walk to the Honda dealership to pick up my car. Well, that was a bad call because when I finally got there (it's a little more than a mile away) I was DRENCHED! Oh well, at least I got a little activity in.
I spent the rest of the day pampering myself... I went to the bookstore to get some new reading material, and then to the nail salon for a pedicure. Later, I had an appointment for a massage. I must say, I never thought I would be someone who enjoyed massages... I'm pretty self-conscious about my size. But I've learned to let that go and relax. I was so relaxed that I was even able to take my "check engine light" coming back on in stride.

- Thursday. Back to the Honda dealership in the morning (actually twice because the first time the light had gone back off) and I'm happy to report the problem is fixed. Next on the agenda was a trip to Fredericksburg for lunch with a HS friend who travelled to DC for work. It was so nice to catch up and the weather was absolutely lovely. Enough to put anyone in a fantastic mood!

- Friday. I weighed in at WW to make sure that I hadn't gained 10 lbs while not paying close attention to my diet (I hadn't... I stayed exactly the same). Then I dropped by the gym to visit with Sean. I wanted to schedule my assessment for tomorrow so that I can start fresh on Monday. We had a nice talk.
Later today I go for a facial. Should be another relaxing experience... never had one before.

So, that's all I have to report. Here's hoping all of this relaxation and self-nurturing helps me keep the stresses of the next 2 weeks in control (ah, yes... I start another 14 day stint at work). I'm going to try and find a little time for myself each of those days (kind of like a maintenance program)... I'll let you know how it turns out!

Have a wonderful weekend!
LP

"You're on vacation, but not from your health"...

Hello everyone!

So, yesterday began my whirlwind trip through the Northeast... It started with a trip to Laurence Harbor, NJ to visit my friend Lori who I had mentioned in an earlier post. She made me an awesome dinner (that was both healthy and delicious) and then we spent a good portion of the night just catching up.

This am, we went on a walk... I had asked that we incorporate some exercise into my visit (I know that I'm probably going to go astray multiple times this weekend so I figured that I better be good when I can). She lives near a state park and so we went their and hit their walking trails. We were having a fine walk when all of the sudden she "surprised" me with bench dips and lunges. And to think, I was worried about missing my workouts with Sean...

Then she reminded me, "You're on vacation, but not on vacation from your health". This resonated with me. I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. And while I fully intend to enjoy this crazy trip I have planned including cheating when it's worth it, I have no intention of blowing all of my efforts. I'm trying to learn the balance of maintaining my healthy habits while having fun and not stressing too much. But practicing this, just like me and the title of my blog, is a work in progress...

Have a wonderful Thursday night!
LP

Celebrating Imperfection

When life gets a little hectic, I need to remind myself of this: I'm aiming for excellence, not perfection. There have been too many times that because I wasn't perfect at something I eventually got disheartened and gave up. This has come into play many times with my previous weight loss efforts -- if I wasn't following all the rules perfectly, I'd begin to give myself enough slack to follow none of the rules and my motivation and efforts would eventually dwindle.

Now I think I (finally) learned what was blatantly clear to everyone else around me; it's okay that I'm not perfect, because nobody is. Trying to be perfect will only lead to failure and disappointment... it's an impossible task. Giving myself this out and celebrating my imperfection has helped me out tremendously. I need to be my biggest cheerleader, not my harshest critic.

So now, when I'm unable to get to the gym because work keeps me there into the wee hours of the morning, or I get so wrapped up in something that I don't eat what I'm supposed to, I am able to shrug it off and keep going. I know that I'm making forward progress even if I have a slip-up now and then.

If this sounds like you too, sometimes it helps to just remember... Strive for excellence, not perfection.

Have a happy Tuesday!
LP