The Streak

"Oh yes, they call her the streak..." No, No... Don't worry! There will be no streaking in my near future. I hope that hasn't made some of you weary of reading this post. Do I have any Grey's Anatomy fans out there? If so, you know Miss Meredith Grey was on a streak! She hadn't lost a patient in 89 surgeries, or some similarly miraculous number. While discussing roll call, gains/losses and how many meetings we have had at TOPS - I was checking my weigh-in book and discovered I'm on my own streak. We have had 11 meetings, 10 weigh-ins and not a single gain. Some weeks are bigger than others - but whether it's 0.1, 1.0 or 10.0 (yea, right!) - I have not gained since January 14th. I am pretty excited about this discovery...and I too, wanted to tell about my streak.

During this process, I've been working hard to figure out once and for all what works for me. It's been pretty evident I've been a bit all over the place trying to do so. I've tried it all over the years...and nothing has ever really stuck. I hear people carry on and on about loving this and couldn't be without that. I have to tell ya...that has never happened for me. It's has always been a struggle...
every.damn.day.

Not one aspect did I find enjoyable or even tolerable. This journey has been by far the most successful - the longest I've ever stuck with anything, and in result, we have...the streak! In the past, I was waiting and waiting for that "loving it" mentality and it just didn't come. Even into week 6...7... 8...of this journey, I was having to force myself through. We had our 10th weigh-in Wednesday and I am JUST now starting to have that feel good attitude.

Awhile back I had placed 30 work out visuals in my living room, after reading that it takes 21 days to create a habit. Perhaps that is true for some, or even most...but it was not true for me. Even after seeing a 10 lb. loss...15 lb. loss and heading into my 20 lb. loss - I was waiting for the feeling to come over me. However, I wasn't shouting from the root tops by any stretch of the imagination.

We're into Week 11, and I'm just getting there. I'm finally finalizing a schedule that I naturally want to commit to and don't have to argue with myself repeatedly. I am finally completing work outs and meals with that feelin' good attitude. I just want to sing "Can't Touch This". I don't even know why, just have the urge lol. No matter what goes on in my day - I'm happy. I'm coping and I'm productive. I had a fair amount of patience before, but it is much improved. In my line of work - that's terribly important. Now, here I am, down another 1.2 lbs this week...sitting between my 20 and 25 pound weight loss and I can finally say I feel it. I'm on a streak...and I feel it!!

I'm still keepin' it real, though...I still have my Wednesday night binge. Then, I wake up Thursday morning and I'm back at it! As many times as I've attempted this weight loss, I sadly can say that I've never really felt committed or habitual in any aspect...let alone obsessive. I do have an obsessive personality, I'm actually quite obsessive in several other aspects of my life. Probably too many to be mentally healthy lol. However, becoming obsessive in the world of healthy living has never been a concern. I have finally found (and who would have thought it would be a good thing) another obsession....

Meet my  FitBit Charge...

Although we already know I fell in love with my morning workouts, I definitely can pay gratitude to the FitBit for keeping that going. In order to hit those daily goals...I need that workout. I am obsessed! I check this thing several times a day. I'm completely committed to hitting those daily goals, even if it means I have to run in place at the Hannaford's check out (Sorry, Courty!) It tracks my sleeping patterns (which is as bad as I thought it was - averaging 2-5 hours of sleep each night), steps, miles and calories burned. It also has a section for stairs - but I don't track that as I don't have stairs at home or work. My main daily goal I have set as steps. It vibrates once I hit my goal. I also have an alarm set, so it vibrates each morning at 5:30am. If I am going to hit that step goal, I need to turtle.

Yes, I call it turtling. People will say, "Did you go for your run this morning?" Let's not get carried away and call it a run, it's pretty far from that. I lightly jog 1/2 of the 3k. Maybe 3/4 on a good day. When I say lightly jog, I mean it resembles a turtle crawling through molasses. Yes I know it's a start, it counts and all that jazz - I'm not putting myself down...Just keepin' it real, as you know.

I understand these devices can be pricey - mine happened to be a gift. However, it is well worth the money! It is key to keeping me on track, along with my TOPS meeting and this blog. If my streak continues, I owe a lot of appreciation to these three things.