Nathan and I were hanging out at the bookstore the other night, and I was tired and wanted to sit down. So I picked up the most recent Running Times (not my usual cup of tea) and had a seat.
The very first article – very first!- smacked me in the face. Not because I equated it to running, but because I equated it to weight loss.
My marathon training is going very well. I’m feeling strong and solid and confident. But as the mileage increases, I could be losing weight. Instead I’m using that as a crutch. My eating keeps getting a little more out of focus each week, but it all balances out. I don’t want things to reach equilibrium. I want to be losing weight. I really want there to be less of me to carry for 26.2 miles in 78 days.
And this article (based on Warren Buffett’s wife’s advice, supposedly) showed me what I need to be doing.
Show up. I’m not very consistent anymore. I’m good at tracking my food for 2 or 3 days and then not tracking for 2 or 3 days. I’m trying to recognize and praise myself for the days I do show up (6 out of 7 last week!), but I want my streak back. I want consistency back. And I’ll get that by showing up.
Tell the truth. I would say that I’m 90% honest in my food journal. Why do I feel so skeevy admitting that I lie in my food journal? I mean, it doesn’t hurt anyone but me but it makes me feel so dirty and dishonest. I put food in, but I may fudge the quantity a little. Or “accidentally” put in part-skim ricotta when I know it was full-fat. I am hanging my head in shame here, friends. I know that I lose best when I track best. But with my polarized thinking, I can have a hard time staying motivated if I’m not meeting my goal consistently. If I want results – and if I want to understand what I need to tweak – I have to be honest in my food journal.
Pay attention. Get out only the amount of crackers I intend on eating, don’t go through half the sleeve before it registers. Be mindful. Be aware. Recognize when I’m eating because I’m hungry and when I’m eating because I’m bored. Pay attention to my options and grab what is best not what is easiest. Be mindful. Be attentive.
Do your best. My best, not my half-assed. Not part-way. Not just enough to keep me treading water. My best. My best focus. Spending my best time in the kitchen preparing my best meals. Eating at the best times so I’m the best fueled for my run. Just my best. I know what that is.
Don’t be too attached to the outcome. Just like I wrote for Cassie (I didn’t ever link to this guest post I did for her, did I?), I want to be thankful and praise myself for my efforts, not my results. Even though the results are based on my efforts, it isn’t always directly correlated. I can work hard and not see scale results. I want to be proud of my behaviors as much as the outcome. And I’m not proud of my behaviors right now. Even though I’m just a few pounds up than my lowest ever weight, I’m not proud of my behaviors.
Do you think these tips would work for you? Is there another area of your life you could apply them? I’d love to hear your thoughts…
Thank you for this Krissie. This is almost as good as getting slapped in the face with that article myself. I have been treading water too, for about 3 mths now. I have 20-25 lbs left to let go of. My knee has been holding me back big time, but it’s showing improvement for the first time in 2 months, so I’m working hard at my physio with my fingers crossed that I will be able to run again in time for the Bluenose in May because I REALLY want to do the 10k!
I miss it. Oh man I MISS it!
Um, I could have pretty much written the same exact thing. Word for word. I am not only half-assing, sometimes I am whole-assing and trying to justify that it’s okay.
WTF?
Even if I don’t lose, I want to know that I was trying my best. Instead, right now I’m feeling not only like a sucky loser but also like a sucky try-er.
I would add that telling the truth when you track food allows you to see what you really need. I started with an arbitrary calorie goal when I began tracking, but I always seemed to go over it (I didn’t pretend that I didn’t go over, I just logged it and waited to see what would happen). I discovered I was still getting the results I wanted and that I consistently went over my original calorie goal because I needed to, based on my level of exercise and my energy requirements. I’ve since readjusted it, but I couldn’t have done so if I hadn’t been honest about it. I think the key for me was to make sure I wasn’t unintentionally assigning moral value to specific foods or calorie amounts. It’s all just data, but it’s not helpful unless it’s accurate data.
Another half-asser here.
I also sometimes fudge my food entires – WHY DO WE DO THAT?! It’s so silly.
As soon as I figure out how the heck to wake up at 5am and go to the gym, I’ll be on my way. BUT HOW?!
OH Girl? ALL ASPECTS OF MY LIFE!!