Seeing Results!

Tonight, I put on a pair of jeans that didn’t fit me less than two months ago.

What a great feeling that was too. Now, these jeans don’t fit me nearly as well as they did two years ago, but hey, progress is progress.

I remember the last time I tried working out. I didn’t have anything in particular that struck me as important enough to want to keep going. No pair of jeans, no favorite shirt, nothing that made me realize that what I am doing is really worth it after all. Until now.

I remember when I tried the pair of jeans on a couple of months ago, and how I sad I was to realize not only were they tight, but I couldn’t have buttoned them if I wanted to. I didn’t even realize, at that moment, how significant of a role these jeans would play in my life. When I put them on tonight, I didn’t actually think they would fit. I put them on remembering exactly what happened the last time, and jokingly thinking to myself, “Wouldn’t that be great if they fit this time?”. And they did. Talk about an awesome moment too.

And to think. I was just thinking about what I wanted to eat tonight and how I planned on making it a “cheat night”. Not that I’m doing the greatest food-wise, but I do pay a lot more attention to what I consume than I used to. I wanted to eat something terrible. Ya know, splurge a little. It just sounded good.

But not now. This only motivates me to not only keep going, but to try harder. If after less than two months, I am already seeing results, then I guess there is no point in turning back now. It’s like when I quit smoking. I started to feel better and the thought of ruining all of my hard work for a little fun no longer seemed like a good idea. I just couldn’t see trashing all of my progress with one cigarette.

And I’m not going to do that with food now. So, Subway it is. This was just the motivation I needed

There’s a reason why I go

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that during the week it’s getting far more difficult to motivate myself to go to the gym, especially for a late night workout.

The hard part is that I haven’t see much progress. After nearly a month and a half of heading to the gym five days a week, I can hardly say I’ve lost any weight or inches.

Ok, so my diet hasn’t exactly improved much, and while that is only half the equation, it clearly is enough to make a difference. To be fair, I don’t eat that horribly, but I have a really difficult time giving up everything I shouldn’t eat. Cookies and soda are far too appealing and I just can’t seem to give up my handful of beers one weekend night a week.

The temptation is just too great.

So, with little to no noticeable progress, there are times when I just don’t feel like it’s worth it to keep going. It isn’t going to help, right? So, why bother? Yes, I realize that is a defeatist way of thinking, and no, it won’t get me anywhere, but sometimes, even I can’t help but think that way. It is incredibly frustrating and aggravating to continue to push myself to work harder when I don’t feel like I am seeing any results. I should probably stop weighing myself every third day and scrutinizing my lack of “progress” and realize that for the last month and a half I haven’t given up, even when I wanted to. I go on my days off when I can’t make it on my normal days. I push myself harder regardless of the pain I feel in my back, legs or arms. I continue to run because while I know that one day I won’t be able to anymore, today is not that day.

I need to give myself a break and just be proud of myself for continuing to go when it would have been so much easier to just stay home because if there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s without fail, every time we leave that gym, I’m happy I made it there in the first place. And that, in and of itself, is enough of a reason for me to continue to go.