Day 897: Getting Comfortable

 

🖤 Get well soon Tommy ! #teamrivs #RageOn 🖤

"I want to get comfortable being

uncomfortable. I want to get more

confident being uncertain. I don't

 want to shrink back just because

something isn't easy. I want to push

back, and make more room in the

area between I can't and I can."

~ Kristin Armstrong ~

Today is day 897 of Nutrisystem. This is the perfect quote for today ! I had to give a 20 minute presentation on a call with many of my colleagues and upper management and I was nervous ! I did a presentation back in December and it went okay, but I knew I could do better and I was determined to keep working on it, so I signed up for the same task again today. I felt like I did a better job but I stumbled here and there and came away with areas I will improve on next time ... since I am signed up for September too ! I have suffered from shyness my entire life and many people probably put different labels on me over the years. Conversation has never come easy for me because of that social anxiety. Even though I'm 36 years into my career I haven't stopped trying to improve myself and my presentation skills have always been sorely lacking. I never volunteered for anything that seemed "hard" and probably missed out on a lot of chances to advance because of it. You have to put yourself out there if you want anyone to recognize your value but I've always been a do'er instead of a mover and shaker ! Ironically enough, during my first workout of the day (right after our call !) iFit trainer Knox Robinson started off with "get comfortable being uncomfortable". Talk about a sense of deja vu ! Of course, he was talking about the 43 minute workout in front of us but what are the odds his commentary would fit right into my day ?!?! It wasn't all bad - I did get some compliments on my presentation from people I hold in high regard so it wasn't a complete disaster. Recognizing where I felt I stumbled the most (and felt the most uncomfortable) will help me do even better next time. Today I had solid content and I was able to fill the allotted time, so it's all about spending more time working on my narrative. That will help me avoid stumbling over words or losing my place. So yes, I want everything today's quote talks about, not only in my professional life but in my personal life as well. Over the past 897 days on Nutrisystem I've had plenty of "I can't vs I can" moments, especially when it comes to fitness. In the beginning it was so hard to motivate myself to get on the treadmill day after day. It was hard. I was fat. I was eating a lot less. I was tired after working all day. My feet hurt. My back hurt. I had 1000 excuses but I kept working at it and little by little progress was made. You feel like you're the only person in the world that feels that way but now I see people sharing the same struggle in the fitness group I belong to. How to motivate yourself is a daily topic and it's different for everyone. There is no magic formula for motivation - you really have to figure out what is going to work for you and you have to dig deep inside and push yourself hard. You have to decide how badly you want it and what you are willing to do to get it. No one else can make that decision for you. I have struggled with motivation all along and I still struggle with it today. I would most definitely rather be sitting on the couch eating ice cream instead of spending 90-100 minutes a day on the treadmill ! Let's face it .. that ice cream is the reason I have to be on the treadmill .. lol !! Anyhow, I'm glad today is over and the presentation is done but I can't wait for September because I plan to KILL IT with my next presentation ! 

Breakfast was a 160 calorie buttermilk waffles with sugar free syrup and an 80 calorie Light & Fit strawberry cheesecake yogurt. Morning snack was a 120 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 220 calorie pepperoni pizza melt with a chef salad. Afternoon snack was 1/2 cup cottage cheese (80 calories) and 2 Alyssa's oatmeal cookies (90 calories). Dinner was a 260 calorie roasted turkey medallions with mashed potatoes & gravy with roasted veggies. Evening snack was a 140 calorie lemon zest cake. Total calories for the day are 1150 and I got 80 ounces of water in. One area of my nutrition plan (I refuse to call it a "diet") I don't often talk about is extras. Some days I have more than what I list here and I'm thinking I need to keep better track of those "extras". Today I also had an 80 calorie oatmeal cookie, a few fresh cherries and a 95 calorie Michelob Ultra. The cookie chased away the mid-afternoon hungries and the cherries kept me on my feet after my 5 pm workout, which left me feeling pretty weak. The beer .. well, it's Friday ! Although I try to keep the extras to a minimum I very often add something when I'm feeling weak or not very energetic. Maintenance calories on Nutrisystem are 1500, so I try not to go over that.

First workout of the day was in Tanzania with iFit trainer Knox Robinson. Second was French Polynesia with iFit trainer Hannah Eden and last was Oslo, Norway with iFit guide Andrew Hutter. I logged 96 minutes, 5.5 miles and 662 calories. I'm taking the night off from the Total Gym. Fitbit says I did over 14,000 steps.

It was chilly again this morning so I didn't head out to the front porch until about 10 am. I went inside to do my presentation because of the traffic noise but then spent the rest of the day on the porch. We didn't have any sun and some very light rain moved in around 3 pm. It was just enough to get everything wet ! I ended up having a pretty productive afternoon so I'll be in good shape when Monday rolls around.  On that note I'm off for a shower and bed. If I stay downstairs too late on Friday and Saturday nights I end up grazing through the kitchen !