Victories of All Sizes

I have so many things I want to tell y'all! I didn't know what today's post was gonna be about til I was on my way home from the gym. Today I want to talk about victories and setbacks and how I classify and handle them. This was spurred by a victory I had today: I jogged on the elliptical for 5 minutes without breaking a sweat. I remember times [not too terribly long ago] that I couldn't jog for 5 minutes straight, or it would've had me breathing like that rhino at the end of the stampede in Jumanji. So needless to say, today was a great day for me.

Especially considering I ate like CRAP this wknd. Belated birthday celebrations and superbowl snacks are not conducive to eating healthy/staying under your calorie goal. But instead of dwelling on the fact that for 2 days in a row I ate like "old Marissa", I just made myself work that much harder today. Josh's schedule got pushed back so I actually was on the elliptical for 20 minutes before he kicked my ass for an hour. And I survived, like a champ. This is another reason why today is very victorious, especially in the shadow of the weekend of deliciously awful food/drinks. Lol.

It's really all about celebrating your victories no matter how trivial they might seem. That's how you keep yourself going. My victories at the beginning that were huge to me are now common occurances. Again, it's about being self contained and not trying to compare yourself to everyone else. That may work for some people, but I know for the majority of women, that's gonna be a recipe for sweat pants that never see sweat and always see couch. And also letting what you COULD consider failures fuel you as motivation to do better next time.

So just START! Be self aware. "Today I will not eat anything fried" "I climbed the stairs without breathing harder" whatever your starting point is, just start. Set goals, big and small. Long and short term. It's kinda like when you add something to your to-do list that you've already done just so you can scratch it off. Think of something you can already do, congratulate yourself, and take it a step further. So you can already climb the stairs with no difficulty? Great! Try running up them or see if you can walk 2 flights. These are the kind of baby steps you HAVE to take to keep yourself motivated. At least for me, if I'm achieving something every couple days, I can only keep improving, right?

This is how I've dropped 40 lbs and 32< inches. And guys, I'm on a roll. Suddenly stealing my sisters size 12 shorts is no longer a day dream but a GOAL. One I'm on track to achieve by this summer, if I can keep up the intensity. And if I can't? I'm still 3-4 sizes smaller than I was. My size 24s from 2 summers ago look like clown pants on me now. A couple weeks ago I bought a size 16 jacket and I did a little dance in the dressing room(and I don't care that you know it)! So what that I ate a crap-ton this weekend? I burned 1111 calories today and I "ran" a mile and a half in less than 20 minutes without breathing like a rhino. I am my successes, not my failures.