Magic Shoes and Positive Self-Talk

I bought these shoes when I hit one of my early weight loss goals:

To quote Forrest Gump:  “Mama said they was my magic shoes.”

When I wear them, I feel like I can do pretty much anything involving exercise.  Like I’m invincible.

Don’t ask me why; I just do.  These shoes make me feel good.  Good enough to put in a hard workout, like I did this morning:

I was a beast on the treadmill this morning: 2.2 miles on an incline most of the way. And I ran!

I ran for part of my workout.  I didn’t run after about the first 30 minutes because I felt a little twinge in my left knee, which is my bad knee.  Not wanting to risk injury, I just walked really damn fast (for me) for the rest of the workout.  I started to get tired about 40 minutes in, and I was only about 1.6 miles in, and I told myself that I could do it–I could get to the 2-mile mark, even if it meant I had to slow my roll to get there.  I looked down at my feet, saw them moving fast, and just kept on until I got to the cooldown portion of my workout.

I did it.  I did a little over 2 miles on the treadmill today, and a year ago, there’s no way I could have ever done that.  Hell, 5 months ago I couldn’t have done it!

So that leads me to the next part of this post which is about positive self-talk.  Last night I posted a composite of myself on my wedding day in my wedding dress with two photos of me wearing the same dress yesterday.  One of my cousins had commented that I had changed so much and looked really good, and I commented back that yes, my face has changed but the turkey wattle that is my neck remains.  One of my friends commented that she noticed that I was putting a lot of negative self-talk out into the ether lately and that I was doing myself a lot of good with all the hard work I’ve been putting in.  I think this was a nudge to remind me to be gentle to myself and to be kinder to myself.  That’s a hint I think I’ll take, because she’s absolutely right.

So here are some positive things I have noticed about the changes I’m seeing:

• I sat in a booth for the first time in a long time at dinner last night.
• I have eaten seafood five times in the past week.
• I resisted the chips and salsa at dinner tonight.
• I wanted to go get on the treadmill and get my 2-mile walk in this morning.
• I am drinking nearly a gallon of water each day.

That’s all I can think of at the moment.

Today’s eating was okay. I was short 5 grams of protein today but I’m not worried about it. I still got in 75 grams. My carb intake was higher than usual at 56 grams, but I did an hour of pretty vigorous exercise, so I think I’m okay there. Tomorrow will be better.

Saturday's food choices, from upper right: Kung Pao chicken (no rice) from Central Market; shrimp brochette, bean soup and guacamole; turkey burger patty with grilled onions and a few chips (i ate 8); leftover grits from last night's dinner; multivitamin and calcium supplements x2, iron supplement. Not shown: slice of Applegate farms chicken breast and slice of Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese.