Challenges

When eating healthy is not your norm (or even when it is) and you are not a natural athlete, everything can appear to be a challenge. And challenges usually only mean one thing: an excuse to quit.

These past couple days have already presented me with several, minor challenges. I have received my first running related injury...a blister! Those things are just annoying. In an effort to cushion the blister on my pinky toe, I placed a band aid over it. This band aid then proceeded to give my other toe a blister! So now I am researching how to prevent blisters from running. I will gladly take any and all tips you might have on how to help reduce this issue during my training!

My second challenge was related to weather and having to run indoors. So far, I have been very lucky with the weather. I've been able to work it out so that every day I needed to run, I was able to do so outside. When running, I enjoy being able to take my own path and actually travel somewhere, so I love just setting out for the neighborhoods and running whatever street I want to run at that moment.

When the weather is bad, it is clearly not conducive to running outside. I belong to a really great gym (Snap Fitness Bluffside), but it does not have an indoor track; therefore, if I want to run indoors, I have to run on a treadmill. I am not the biggest fan of running on a treadmill for long distances. It seems odd to me to run in place for that long and have others constantly working out around me. I just constantly feel judged! Plus, treadmills just seem harder!

Well, I finally had to face this situation on Thursday and I ran 3 miles on the treadmill. It was not my best run at all, but I ran it. I am going to have to get use to this when the winter hits, though! And for me, I feel like winter is almost every day here in Wisconsin...

My third challenge is my desire to be social. Being social almost always equals food. Whether you are meeting over a meal, gathering for drinks, throwing a party, enjoying a BBQ, etc., being social constantly involves food. It's hard because you want to be around people, but you don't want to offend anyone by not eating, you don't know if you will be strong enough to avoid the food that is there, and you don't want to feel awkward or out of place. Furthermore, people love to give food as gifts and that would just be rude to not accept a gift!

Anyway, this is constantly a challenge and this weekend definitely proved that. I had two wonderful friends visit, had a lovely happy hour with coworkers, and was given a pie as a gift. All of these things were incredible and I enjoyed every minute, but it means I have to work hard to get back on track. Weight Watchers builds in flex points into their program for these exact moments. I may not be able to track everything I eat in one meal or I may eat more than my daily allowance, but that is okay and the occasional indulgence is encouraged. It is important not to beat yourself up about these moments, but rather enjoy them and continue on your weight loss journey.

Challenges are a part of life and a part of the weight loss process. In the past, all of these in one week would have derailed me for months. But not this time. This time, I am keeping my goal in better focus.