The Mental Part

One of the reasons that I enjoy Ms. Bitchcake's blog so much, besides the gorgeous pictures of New York is that she will frequently write about what goes through her head during her various work-outs.  Especially in the last few years when she's been super-active.  (If you're looking for inspiration on your  own journey, I really recommend reading her early posts.  While she is very awesome now, it's not the same since she's already reached goal and not losing anymore.)  Anyways, I think about this all the time -- mostly because I have so many varied thoughts during my own workouts.  Frequently involving how I don't want to do them.

And I started trying to write this last night and got distracted...  Which actually worked out, because tonight's Weight Watcher's meeting topic was, in part, about the mental part.  We talked about habits and how long it takes to create them (66 days, studies have shown and here's your link if you'd like to read that) and then how long it can take to break them.  (My quip was it depends on how good the cookies are...)  We talked about bad habits that we have broken or ones that we need to break.

I think about this a lot.  Sometimes while on the dreadmill, as I mentioned above.  I don't really feel wholly cured of many of my bad habits (see also: wino, strapping on tortilla chips like a feedbag), but I feel like I'm an evolving work.  Every chance I have to go one way or the other, when I go in a direction that feels "right" I feel like that's progress.  But these are small steps.  And while I recognize and give myself credit for these particular activity points -- I know that I have a long way to go.  I KNOW that I have not fully embraced a full lifestyle change.

I know this because I still like to party like a rock star.  One thing that's changing about that is that even when the things I am tracking are embarrassing - I am still tracking them or trying to.  And yes, I did track the shots I did on Saturday night thankyouverymuch.  Sometimes, I just overcount but I'm really trying to be diligent when it comes to this.  I'm trying to make the formation of a habit feel like the actual habit, but it's still tricky.  It's the hardest exercise I do -- the mental part.  So, as so often is the case, got the perfect quote from our awesome leader Sherrie tonight -- "Your body can do anything -- it's just your brain you have to convince."

I will keep this in my mental bag of tricks as I prep for the 5k in October and as I continue to work to be a natural Weight Watcher.

hugs,
Heather