A New Normal

The other day at Weight Watchers my leader talked about creating a "new normal". She was referring to how we think about and eat food and how we incorporate activity into our day-to-day lives. Weight Watchers is not a diet, but rather a lifestyle change. I have heard this said dozens of times throughout my time with Weight Watchers and I believe it to be absolutely true. Individuals believing it is a diet or a "quick fix" to weight loss may have short-term success, but I think have a harder time in the long-run.

For me, my "new normal" surprises me daily. Before joining Weight Watchers and seeing success, I spent most of my days sitting around and eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it. This is no longer the case. Nowadays, it is actually hard to get me to just sit down and do nothing!


My "new normal" was highlighted significantly yesterday. A former RA of mine came to visit me this weekend and we decided to go for a bike ride on Saturday. After doing some research we decided to explore the Sparta trails and investigate these "tunnels" that were mentioned as being along the path. This semi-spontaneous bike ride resulted in us going nearly 24 miles, seeing two really cool tunnels, and being scared by a close, and rather loud, cow!



Our bodies were killing us towards the end of this ride, but we were so proud of our accomplishment. All I wanted to do after, though, was to sleep for a very long time; however, I still had my 4 mile run to do! I strongly considered postponing it for a day, but I knew that would mess up my schedule for the week considering I am out of town for two days for a training conference. So...I ran. It was a struggle, but in the end, I only ran it 30 seconds longer than my last 4 mile run and I kept to my schedule despite desperately wanting to slack off!

Yes, I feel like postponing a run after a 24 mile bike ride would have been justified, but I am so proud of myself for sticking to my goals! Being active is now part of my "new normal" and I am very happy for it!

Pictures of the two tunnels we came across while on the bike trails near Sparta, WI. You had to walk your bikes in a single file line on the right through these because it was so dark. I learned tons of history while on this ride including that trains used these tunnels back in the day and the doors helped keep the moisture out during the colder months. One tunnel was built in 1873!