Taking the next step and moving beyond the diet

Nobody said it was going to get easier.

Photo by Katie McBroom on Unsplash

I’ve finally lost the first 50 lbs in my weight loss journey. People are starting to notice; one neighbor looked at me in shock and said I’d lost a whole person. That always feels good.

Mostly it’s been about eliminating the junk from my diet, replacing it with veggies and restricting portions but I sensed I’d hit a plateau. It was really only one weekly weigh-in that showed I’d backtracked a few ounces but I’d gotten used to that one or two pounds a week and I could just feel it. I also have this nagging vision of myself waking up one morning having packed all that weight back on.

I need to get outside anyway — fitness is about more than a number on a scale. I’m vitamin D deficient from other issues and some sun wouldn’t hurt. I’ve also been promising it to myself once the weather warmed up and the weather outside is beautiful and in the upper 70s. It would be a sin not to go out.

Keeping it Realistic

I’ve been telling myself it’s going to be different this time. The days of aggressive goals (cough pipedreams) for uber-workouts five days a week are behind me. Now, the idea is just to show up on a regular basis and do something. Just burn some calories, get my body and mind working again, get out from behind the computer and get some natural light on my face for a change.

There’s a park with a two mile walking trail just down the street from me that I’ve been going to off and on for over 30 years. I even used to work across the street from it which occasionally gave me a little more incentive to get out there after work. I’d promised myself I’d go first thing this morning and get it out of the way but I’m still too attached to my breakfast and coffee routine so it was pushed to 3 p.m., the latest hour before I would probably decide it needed to be pushed to tomorrow.

I get there to see an acquaintance of mine, Glen. We have an odd habit of often going there at the same time, even though the time varies. We get to talking and start out on the track together. I know Glen to be a runner but he seems to be walking these days — maybe out of consideration of aging joints. We keep up the conversation for the first half mile or so of the track but it’s obvious that Glen is able to maintain a walking pace that I can only fondly remember. He eventually politely says goodbye because he doesn’t want to hold me up although I’m sure he can hear by my breathing that the opposite is true. I never complained about the pace but I’m not going to argue with him now, either.

With a couple gasps of relief, I welcome Pandora as my new walking partner.

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There’s no question that music keeps me going during a walk. I might not do some of the quality thinking that I do when I just let my mind roam but, right now, in a choice between that and getting the distance I want today, I’ll just let the music take over and keep my mind off my aching legs or how the pace that Glen set at the start has already taken its toll on me.

I get to the hilly part of the trail that includes three separate moderately steep inclines. Knowing the trail as well as I do sometimes let’s me mentally carry myself around it but other days it just reminds me what’s to come. There was a time, several years ago, when I could jog up one of those hills but I have some ways to go before I get back to that point.

There are plenty of benches around here and I decide to rest for a bit to get my breath. Then I see Glen in the distance coming my way. I know he’s going to pass me at some point but he’s not going to do it while I’m sitting down. I get moving again and decide to take that part of the trail in the opposite direction from usual just to distract my brain.

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Halfway through the section, there’s a nice, sunny bench where I usually like to rest. I don’t see Glen anywhere around; it looks like he took an extra portion of the trail through a memorial park, so I sit down for a moment. I know I don’t have long and it’s less than one song before I see him coming around the bend.

Dammit, Glen …

A few minutes later, I’m almost through the hilly section and approaching the junction to the rest of the trail. Glen passes me and says see you later, probably to head off any further conversation with the slowpoke. I’m in the homestretch and it’s all flat ground from here but I really want to get this done with and get back home.

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I’m trying to get in the habit of pausing on my feet rather than sitting down and I’m doing more of that today. Yes, I really am in abysmal shape despite the weight loss and have a long way to go but at least I have some hope that I can make myself do it this time. I feel the motivation of both my fears for my health and my successes.

Finally, I’m at the end. I’ve probably done slightly more than two miles because of a detour at the beginning and that’s a bonus. Pandora decides to cheer me on with one of my favorite epic music selections as I cross the finish line. I could have used it earlier but then I probably shouldn’t have hit repeat on Aerosmith.

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I’ve done it. I made myself get out there and do something. The unintentional challenge from Glen helped, too.

Hopefully, I’ll be jogging up that hill again one day. For now, there’s just tomorrow.