Day 68: The Road to Success

“The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flat tires called Jobs, but if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perseverance, a driver called Will Power, you will make it to a place called Success.”

I don’t know who wrote this and I’m not sure I understand what every part of it means, but it inspired me today. I feel like I’ve reached Success in some areas of my life but I’m still on the road when it comes to my weight. Back in 2017 after the fire I had started a fitness and weight loss journey but when I was hit by the car and broke my wrist I let that derail what I was doing and most of what I had achieved was lost (or gained !). I wasn’t weighing myself back then but I believe my weight today is less than it was in October 2017, so I feel like I’m back on the right road. The mistake I made in 2017 was thinking 90 minutes per day on the treadmill would be sustainable. That’s an example of an incredibly unrealistic goal for someone who works and is away from home for 12 hours a day 5 days a week. People tried to tell me it was too much but I didn’t want to listen. I tended to set lofty unreachable goals and then go down in flames. The good news is I learned from it and the 20 minute workouts I’m doing now are much more sustainable since it’s pretty easy to find 20 minutes to devote to fitness every day. There is also the fact studies have shown short bursts of high-intensity interval training can be more effective than 45 minutes of less strenuous exertion. At my weight and level of fitness I feel like the workouts I’m doing are high-intensity. Someone who weighs less and is in much better shape would probably call them a warm up ! I’ll never be jogging on the treadmill (or anywhere!) but as my weight decreases and my fitness level increases I will move up to more challenging workouts. I don’t know that my speed will go much past 3 mph but there are plenty of workouts that utilize incline to work your body a little bit harder.

From August 2017 to the present I made good use of Determination, Perseverance and Will Power. I’ve been through a lot with the fire, the broken wrist, the process of restoring the house, dealing with the ghosts of the past and the new uncertainty with my job. I made it through all of that and emerged an even stronger person. I don’t know what’s in store for me next but I’m better equipped to handle it !

Breakfast today was a 90 calorie 3.8 ounce turkey ham and cheese omelet. I had this with pineapple (about 60 calories) since the omelet provides no Smart Carb. Coffee was Green Mountain Breakfast Blend, one of my favorites, and a Keurig French Vanilla. Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. I also had a 100 calorie string cheese, which was my breakfast Power Fuel. I skip the morning snack Smart Carb and use it to have granola in the yogurt I have with lunch. Lunch today was a 200 calorie 3.7 ounce grilled chicken sandwich. I had raw carrots with it followed by fat free plain yogurt (60 calories) with granola. Afternoon snack was 2 wedges of Laughing Cow cheese (100 calories) and some low fat wheat thins (120 calories). Dinner tonight was a 8.2 ounce 270 calorie black bean and polenta enchilada with white meat chicken. I’ve been slacking on veggies so I had a bowl of roasted brussel sprouts and mushrooms with it. My evening snack was a 1.8 ounce 170 calorie cinnamon coffee cake. My calories are at about 1237 for the day but if I add in the granola (not sure on the calories) I’m probably around 1300, which is perfect.

I really need to put some time into the Power Fuels and Smart Carbs options because I’m having mostly the same things every day and I’m starting to get a little bored. My plan calls for 4 Power Fuels and 2 Smart Carbs per day in addition to a breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. I can’t eat string cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese and cheese and crackers every day for the next year ! I have a booklet from Nutrisystem with a list of foods so I need to take the time to make a list and pick up a few different items so I can rotate what I’m eating. I’m also going to try prepping my add-ins for the week on Sundays so I can grab and go all week. I don’t get bored with the breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack entrees because Nutrisystem has a great selection and I pick my own foods each month, so I’m not having the same meals every day. I really like being able to customize my order - I probably change it 6 or 7 times a month. I changed it tonight to remove the black bean and polenta enchilada that I had for dinner. I’ve had it a couple of times and it’s not a favorite. I can’t see taking in all those calories and not really enjoying the meal.

This day got off to a rocky start. I woke up around 2:30 am and could not go back to sleep. I was still awake at 3:30 but I think I finally went back to sleep around 4 am. I was tempted to get up instead of going back to sleep but I didn’t relish the thought of trying to function on 4 hours of sleep. Drive to work was fine although I’m not liking the fact that it’s dark. Roads were clean and dry in spite of the snow flurries that started falling just as I left home. Since it was only about 28 degrees it was that dry icy snow that just blows around instead of sticking to the road. My rocky morning continued when I discovered the cup I had just brewed my coffee in was leaking ! I don’t know about you, but I hate to waste even one drop of that morning elixir ! A new cup solved that issue in a hurry. The rest of the day went fine and the drive home was a pleasure since the sun was shining ! Home by 6, fed the cats, cleaned out my containers and got everything prepared for tomorrow, had dinner, had a workout and still had time to watch the end of The Maltese Falcon on TCM. Totally love Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart !!

Weather looks pretty good for the next few days - warmer with rain in the forecast instead of the white stuff. Looking forward to a nice hot shower and sinking into my comfy bed !