Day 74: The Key to Success

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." ~Albert Schweitzer~

Truer words have never been spoken. I’ve tried dieting in the past and while I had some success it never stuck and I can’t say I ever loved what I was doing. That is what is different about Nutrisystem for me. I absolutely love what I am doing and I’m seeing the results. Same goes for exercise. I’ve had success in the past using a treadmill but I can’t say I ever enjoyed it as much as I do today. I certainly NEVER looked forward to it ! iFit is making the difference because it gives me a specific targeted workout instead of just walking endlessly. I enjoy the scenery and the trainer talking to you through the whole session. It’s amazing how fast it goes when you’re not focused on the timer ! I know Nutrisystem isn’t for everyone. I’ve seen plenty of people in the FB group that don’t like the food and are not successful. Many also complain about the cost. Considering what I was spending just for breakfast and lunch 5 days a week, I’m probably saving money. Nutrisystem is also teaching me portion control and the right foods to choose. I was never one to read labels and doing it now is eye opening ! iFit is probably not for everyone either since there is a cost associated with it. It is working for me so I plan to continue with it. What’s nice is seeing the progression in the workouts I choose. I can stick with the same workout for a few weeks and once I don’t feel challenged I can step up to another level with a bit more of a challenge. I’m taking it slow because my endurance or fitness level is not going to rocket up overnight, so I’m not rushing into more challenging workouts. If I do and can’t do them I will get discouraged. I know that because when I first started trying iFit I chose workouts that were way out of my league and I remember saying “I can’t do this”. This was because I chose workouts with jogging and steep inclines. I will never be a jogger and I’m nowhere near ready for steep inclines. Still, those are words I don’t want to hear again ! I can and I will do this ! This may sound silly, but another thing that makes the workout better is having the proper exercise wear. I never did that before – I exercised in shorts and a baggy t-shirt. It’s hard to explain why it makes a difference without sounding like a narcissist so I’ll leave it at that.

Breakfast today was a cup of Green Mountain Breakfast Blend coffee with a 1.5 ounce 160 calorie apple strudel bar. I’m not a huge fan of bars for breakfast but I got a bundle of them free so I need to eat them. The apple strudel bar is actually pretty good ! Breakfast Power Fuel was the usual 100 calorie string cheese. Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 200 calorie broccoli and cheese melt with some raw carrots and cottage cheese. Afternoon snack was 3 wedges of Laughing Cow cheese (90 calories) and low fat wheat thins (90 calories). Dinner was a 5 ounce 210 calorie broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breast. I was leery of the chicken breast entrees but they are actually quite good ! I had big bowl of broccoli with it so I got my veggies in for the day. I’m also close to the 64 ounce water goal so I did better with that today. As much as I wanted to laze on the couch I didn’t. First workout of the week is in the books and I’m ending the day with my evening snack - a 1.7 ounce 150 calorie fudge brownie ! I did better on my calories today - I’m at about 1240.

Although it was only 20 degrees when I got up sunrise brought blue skies and bright sunshine to Syracuse ! We had a dusting of snow overnight but there were no impacts to the morning commute. It’s still dark when I leave for work but we get a little bit more daylight every day so that won’t last much longer. It will officially be Spring on Wednesday and our forecast high is 48 degrees ! Let’s hope that is the beginning of a trend ! The morning darkness (and the cold) makes it so hard to get out of bed. My internal clock is still not used to the time change so it’s an effort every morning ! I’m usually awake when the alarm goes off but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to roll out of bed ! Once the warm weather is here it will be much easier to get up.