Ladies and gentlemen, this is Week #14. Day 100 of the challenge is next Tuesday!!
Alas, I won't be able to provide final stats at that time because I haven't really kept track the past little while, and at this point I can't remember enough for them to be accurate. And really, what good are incomplete stats? It breaks my little accountant heart.
Don't worry, though. Since I try not to allow my accountant heart to dictate how I actually live my life, I'm doing okay, emotionally. Despite the recent rough patch, from beginning to end, this effort has been far more successful than not, and I don't regret doing it.
However, since confession is good for the soul, part of the reason I haven't had the heart to keep stats is that I've been slowly slipping off the wagon in all departments these past few weeks:
The Coffee Wagon
On Easter Sunday I broke my coffee fast. I figured-- and I still do!--that DOUBLE the lenten period abstaining from coffee was good enough. Once that barrier was broken, things began to escalate. My overall word count has been slipping behind a little, so last weekend I challenged myself to some hard core writing sprints over the weekend and my motivation/reward for achieving that were a few big white chocolate mochas from Starbucks. This week I haven't offended at the Starbucks level, but I have offended with coffee at home nearly every day.
The "Meal Plan" Wagon
This has been a bit touch and go, but I'm definitely in more lax general territory than I was the first 2/3 of the challenge. I'm having two or three carb binge temper tantrums per week. I went to a friend's birthday celebration and ate appetizers and the entire plate of my entree where before I would not have allowed myself any appetizers and I would immediately have put half my entree aside to have as a meal the next day.
Little indulgences, each with its own perfectly reasonable excuse, are slipping through the cracks. If I keep it up, I will soon go from "leaking" to "hemorrhaging".
The Yoga Wagon
My cardio exercise efforts have actually remained pretty steady, however, on "off" days when I don't do cardio, I'm not keeping up on my yoga set. I can recall only one "off" day in the entire past three weeks that I did it. Bad, lazy Faith!
The Water-Drinking Wagon
Hahaha. Just... no.
The Exercise Wagon
Until this week, Week #14, I have gotten a 100% score on cardio. I'm really, really proud of that. This week has been an aberration-- a temporal crux of a bad cold, a sore back, and some scheduling conflicts. As a result, this week only I haven't exercised a jot. And truthfully, I kind of miss it.
So what's next?
This zone - between 180 and 185 lbs, is a truly difficult area for me. It's exactly where I started to fizzle out three years ago when I had my last comparable success. I'm starting to like the way I look, which puts me on a "success" high, and for me that's dangerous for momentum. I use it as an excuse to justify slacking off.
Also, it's finally feeling like springtime in Ohio and that gets my endorphins all skyrockety and that puts me in danger of being reckless.
I am NOT going to revert. I promise.While thinking about all of this these past few weeks, I've come to some decisions and I've had this line from Lord of the Rings running through my head constantly:
GANDALF: "One stage of your journey is over. Another begins."
(Who knew there were so many epic and applicable nerd quotes to motivate one toward healthy habits?)
Details on Monday.
