Give up the giving up

I give up pretty easily.

Heck!  A LOT of people do (if I’m going down on this sinking ship, I’m taking all of you with me!!!).

We make excuses as to why we can’t do things, talk ourselves out of simple tasks out of laziness or fear, and choose the easiest route to what we think will make us happy.

I did just that in my half marathon on Sunday. I was humming along, running in front of the 2:15 pace bunny and completely on track for a good race. I was feeling great despite the humid, damp air and lack of sunshine. But then I got to 13km (the turn around back to the finish) and thought, “I’ve made it this far and have done well, I can just run at whatever pace I want to now and just complete the race.”

The pace bunny and his gaggle of followers then moved in front of me and slowly became a dot in the distance.

But why? There was nothing wrong with me. No stitch in my side, no soreness in my knees, no difficulty breathing – I just lost my focus. Odd considering the finish line was getting closer and closer with every step.

But it translates into every aspect of my life. I think that I’ve not only lost focus on the finish line, but the end point to all of my goals. I’m so distracted and down on myself that I am giving up on things that I know I can do and that I can do well. From the half-ass posting here, the never ending “last suppers” before getting back on track with WW or quitting a run 2km before a finish.

Sure, circumstances in my life have me at a really low point right now, but NOT dwelling on them or letting them control my life is the only way to crawl out of the hole. Quitting on goals and myself will only keep me right where I am. There’s no point in climbing half way up a mountain, is there? There’s no glory in that.

I have a lot of positive things in my life and there are a lot of high points, I’m just choosing to focus on the negative for some odd reason. Misery loves company, right?

But you don’t have to hit rock bottom before you can climb back up to the top. Realizing WHY you do things instead of focusing on the things that can hold you back will help correct behaviours, resolve problems and move you forward.

Now, if I had spent the 2:23 that I spent running on Sunday thinking about THAT instead of all of the negative self-talk (and day-dreaming about brunch), I’d be much further ahead today, now wouldn’t I?

Why you should check your bum in the elevator mirror

 

It will save you a buttload of embarrassment.

SERIOUSLY.

Granted, these jeans are very old, but they were the biggest ones I have. So to rip them means I’m in big trouble.

Oddly enough, it was a ripped jeans incident that occurred just before I got myself on track in January 2006.

I’m keeping these around to remind me of that.

Please feel free to mock me, my underwear and my bum in the comments :D

Dear Mother Nature,

 

Remember me? We’ve talked before. And, uh, maybe I’ve even cursed you on occasion.  Sorry about that, but I hope that you can understand and forgive me, right?

So why am I bothering you today? See, the thing is there’s this race on Sunday that I planned on running.

It’s  kind of a big deal, you know?

See, I would REALLY, REALLY love it if it didn’t rain that day.

This will be the third year in a row that I am running the half and I’d kind of like it if it was sunny that day. Running along the lakeshore with the sun shining off of the water is truly a beautiful thing that everyone registered should experience.

Running next to the lake while it’s pissing rain – yeah, not so much fun. Been there (@ the 10 miler last year), done that, NOT impressed.

Don’t get me wrong, now. Running in the rain is refreshing at times, but I’d like it NOT to be on a day where I’ve paid an entry fee to run.

So if you could upgrade the forecast to at least partly cloudy or something, I think we could come to an understanding.

Sound good?

 

Have your people call my people.

 

xo

Mouse

The shadow don’t know diddly

 

I’d like to think that I’m doing pretty well lately. Heck! Some of my old clothing even tells me so.

My scale, on the other hand, tells me things are pretty much the same (I finally got on it).

So which do I trust?

The clothing that encases me like a sausage or the scale that tells me that everything is status quo?

Is there good news anywhere in there?

BOTH really peeve me since I’m counting my arse off…well, obviously not off …yet.

I’m staying within my points, but admit to not making the *best* choices all of the time. Sure, there’s been some run ins with cheese, cake and ice cream, but they get tracked and tallied and I’m not going over AT ALL.

Making good choices has given me a boost of self-confidence, but then I’m walking along in the sunshine, take a gander at my shadow on the ground and I’m floored.

Muffin top, thunder thighs and a big ol’ butt stare up at me from the sidewalk. I sooooo get why the groundhog runs and hides when he sees his shadow on February 2nd now.

But should I let this rule my life?

Absafrigginlutely not.

Only *I* can decide if it’s working, and in my mind it is.

Mirrors, scales and shadows be damned – I’m doing a good thing for myself. Whether it takes months or years, I’ll get back there again someday. I can’t let reflections get me down.

My reflection is more than the image that stares back at me in a mirror or the shadow that I cast on the ground.

Actions speak louder than words, and reflections don’t make much of a sound at all.

Now, if only I could mute the voices in my head, I’d be living in a perfect world :)

Maybe Rachel Ray is Good for Something...

Of course it happens at the END of summer

I FINALLY fit in a pair of my old capris.

A pair of capris that used to give me saggy ass.

Although they look painted on my legs a bit, but they FIT!

I guess this whole counting thing works, eh?

 

I think on Monday I might suck it up and stand on the scale just to make sure it has worked :)

How do I get myself into these things?

As you all know, my birthday was three weeks ago. So far 30 has been treating me pretty poorly and I feel like my body has aged another 30 years over night (stupid knee).

But friends have been treating me well. Maybe too well.

Jammer decided we needed to celebrate my birthday again last week…with more cake.

sigh.

I warned her to buy the smallest one she possibly could and that she would have to take the leftovers with her.

Unfortunately she only took half and I was left with three more pieces. And maybe I ate one more on the weekend…

BUT…good has come of it! The pieces I consumed were tracked and I didn’t go over my POINTS last week. I was completely on program WITH cake!

But I still have some left in my freezer.

Um…how long does grocery store cake last in a freezer, anyway?

And how much longer do I have to celebrate this stupid birthday?

Dear Knees,

I know that you hate me and I fully understand why.

I tease you by doing smaller runs all week only to put you through the torture of a 20km run today (and then a 10km on Sunday).

But I treat you right the rest of the week! You get ample couch time, elevated on soft pillows and keep me company while I watch horrible daytime television.

But I can see why. It’s not only the running. P90x is tweaking you from time to time with all of the lunges, squats and silly yoga poses.

But we have to get along, kids.

We’re a team.

If I buy you ice cream, can we be friends again?

Or maybe just more ice?

 

Let a sister know.

xo Mouse.

Everything can be a 100 calorie pack!

Yup. They’ve gone and done it.

Oreo Cakesters, the super sweet,  cake-like version of everyone’s favourite sandwich cookie has decided to jump on the 100 calorie bandwagon to increase their take on the cookie market.

Does everyone else see a problem with this?

These snacks are anything but figure friendly, with a regular package of two making a 6 POINT dent in your daily allowance. So just HOW does one go about making a 100 calorie pack of the delicious devils?

You make them about the size of a quarter.

Really.

NOTHING about these little bad boys are any different than their big brothers. They have the same ingredients and pack the same wallop if you eat the same serving size.

Yup. Not only are they teeny, tiny, but the serving size is just under half of the regulars (23g vs. 50g), as you can clearly see on the package.

So if you were to eat 50g of the pint-sized snack, you’d really be doing the same damage as the bigguns.

So why bother? What is it about these 100 calorie packs? Why do we need the label to exercise portion control? Why can’t we just eat ONE Cakester and be done with it?

The whole concept is out of whack to me. A regular box gets you six packages, with two cookies in each, while the 100 calorie packs give you five packages.

If you could control your portions well, you could, in theory, have 12 snacks vs. the 100 calorie five snacks.

It’s all well and good that they provide a “sensible” (notice quotes) option for those who need them, but you’re paying such a high price.

Although, I paid a much higher price by throwing the Cakesters out because I would eat both boxes in one sitting.

You can repackage and reformat things all you want, the evil will always lurk inside.