Good Morning. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon

Happy 4th Gina and LW's!

I am definitely free of my fat suit.  Being able to run up ramps of stairs,  go out in my size 10 speedo yesterday, wear shorts, consider letting my hair go grey (probably won't happen) but the point is, I just feel so much better in my own body.  I love how I move, how I feel, how I look at myself in the mirror.  Yup, could use body lift/ face lift/breast lift/thighs/arms etc, but I get to love myself today in this body that I've worked hard to create.

Sprint?  It's never been a sprint for me.  Month three I shed 3 pounds and had many many months like that post-op.  I wasn't able to shed the pounds in the past which is why my doc recommended the surgery in the first place.  I'm tenacious and persistant which I guess has helped me get as far as I have.  It's most definitely a marathon and I'm not at the finish line yet.  My body seems to like to maintain between 153 and 155 (this morning 153) so I'm playing with what works best for me at this point.  Lots of fruits and veggies coaxed me back from 157 to 153 this week, post-vacation airplane weigh****er retention etc.  I think my body is relieved to be rid of processed food that was prevalent in Spain.

My weekly WW meetings really help me stay on track.  I weigh daily at home but it's that weekly weigh in that really counts for me and I love the support I get from my leader to keep me on track.  Having great WLS buddies to exercise with several times a week is such a bonus and gift in my life. I also like my Kaiser group support meetings as another reality check.  Checking in here and talking about what's going on also is a huge gift!  When I come here and read posts, I know I'm not alone!  I need everything that I can get my hands on to keep me from ever going into denial that this is a lifelong journey and I'm here for the long haul.

I haven't run a marathon but I've done an Ironman (which has a marathon in it).

I understand why people use these metaphors -- to remind ourselves that it's a long journey and to pace ourselves and not look for instant results -- but I don't think what I am on now is anything like a marathon. That is because a marathon has a beginning, a middle and an end. It also has a prep phase where we train. But this is our life. It doesn't have an end, at least not until we die. It's not all leading up to some big event that we can conquer.

I think of more like the training leading up to the Ironman.

When you train for a big race like that, most people periodize their training. They aren't training all out every day all the time. They have ebb and flow within the week and they also have recovery weeks. The other thing is, training for an Ironman isn't just about exercising. It's about everything. The pros say things like "I train 24/7 because it's all training." It's the exercise but it's also the nutrition and the sleeping enough and cross training and recovery (rest) time.

So I have weeks when my eating is going great, but my sleeping sucks. I have weeks when I get in all my workouts and ones where I hardly work out at all. I have weeks when everything flies off the rails. I have perfect weeks. But, as long as I keep plugging at it, it's all leading me somewhere. It's all getting me closer to being where I want to be.

And once I get there, I pick a new place to aim for...

With a marathon (or any race), you plan and you train and then the big day arrives and you perform and that's it. If you wake up sick and can't race, oh well. It's all over. If you don't make the podium or finish or your time goal, you don't get a do-over.

But, luckily, life isn't like that. If we eat a cookie that we didn't plan to eat, we get another chance to do better. If we have a sucky week, then there is next week to try again. As long as we continue to make mostly good decisions and as long as we pull ourselves up out of the abyss and start over, then we've got a shot at getting where we want to be.

I like that. 

**Like**  This makes perfect sense.

--g