You've Come Too Far To Have Come This Far And Stopped.

There's an old joke about someone who was swimming the English Channel.  Halfway through she said "I'll never make it!" and swam back. 

I'm now on Day 200 of my fitness streak, assuming that I work out 30 minutes today.  (Which I will, short of being struck by a meteor).  And I've definitely had a few moments of "I can't make it."  But I know that if I swim back, I will have been able to make it.  So I'm following Dory's advice from Finding Nemo.  "Keep On Swimming, Keep On Swimming!"  (although, sadly, the pool is closed)

I'm keeping on swimming just like Dory.
(It's good when you can get your
wisdom from animated films.)

[ In case you missed it, Since September 11, 2019, I've been on a streak of doing the following:

• Exercise 30+ minutes every day
• Write down everything that I eat.
• Don't eat after 9pm- Don't eat before 9 am.

You can read more about why, and see some embarrassing photos here.]

(I'm not particularly embarrassed by the photos, other than that they document how fat I actually was, and even now how fat I still am, despite losing 60 lbs. )

Okay, here's the embarassing photo.  Why make you have to go elsewhere:


I've definitely lost a lot of weight, but I still have a long way to go.

EXERCISING DURING SELF-QUARANTINE

During this enforces Stay At Home Order, I've been doing just that, staying at home.

And following my program!

This is the Yoga series I've been doing every day.
True:  Yoga With Adriene

I can't swim or go to the gym (hmmm... wonder if I'll get a rebate on my gym membership?)  but I've been doing the recumbent bicycle at home, occasionally doing wall pushups or lifting my 12 lb dumbbells, and over the last few days have also started doing a yoga practice using the television.

I'm following along with the show Yoga With Adriene.

I like her style and her slightly flippant attitude, and the fact that she doesn't seem to judge me (which is ridiculous, since she is on television and doesn't know that I exist as I watch her)  But I feel like she's a good teacher, and although I can't do some of the things she does yet, I'm moving along to it, and working on things like my downward dog, my cobra, and my salutation to the sun.

She's got a bunch of yoga videos on Amazon Prime (which are free if you are a member)  I'm following True, which is a 30 day series, but there is a whole lot of Yoga content on Amazon Prime.  (And by the way,  if you are not a member, you should definitely try it.  There's a 30 day free trial, and now, coronavirus time, would be a good time to check it out!)  And if you start your 30 day trial by clicking this graphic, you will be helping this blog!

EATING WELL DURING SELF-QUARANTINE

I have been cooking every day since we started self-quarantining on March 16.   We had gotten a good amount of groceries, and I've been out to the grocery store twice in the last 14 days.  (Typically I go to the grocery store 4-5 times a week.) 

We ordered out once since then (or it would be better to say we ordered in-- restaurants are still closed in Illinois)  It was Korean food from Crisp (our favorite Dak Wings, was closed, but it looks like they have since reopened for delivery and takeout)  The food was delicious, but it was so salty.  I literally gained 5 lbs the next day and my ankles were swollen.   Although I loved it, at this point, it's just not worth it.

A typical example of a soup I might make.

I've been making lots of smoothies for breakfast, and/or egg white omelets with meat, veggies, and maybe a side of Kim chee.  For lunch I will usually have a large homemade Vietnamese style soup, with veggies, meat, gochuchang, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, spinach, and even an egg.

Dinner is usually meat with a vegetable, and a small amount of carbs.  (The other night I made polenta with pork and kale in a rough marinara.  It was pretty good.)  We also did a veggie taco bar the other night that was very tasty.

I do eat snacks, but I measure them out and weigh them out and try to space them out throughout the day.  I usually eat Pretzel crisps, or a piece of fruit, or sometimes a couple of ounces of deli-turkey.

Over the last 200 days, there have been a handful of times I've eaten after 9 pm, but typically not, and if I do, I still try to honor that minimum 12 hour window of not eating.  At this point I can do easily 14 hours most days, and could probably do more if I had to.  I'm not trying to push myself to hunger, but rather with the idea of "Delay, Not Deny."

THE TEMPTATION OF THE MAN

It would have been easy to give up now, during these special circumstances, to find an excuse to not work out, to eat poorly, to order out food that I know I shouldn't eat, etc.

 It's been tempting, and I even bought a pack of Good and Plenty at the drugstore during one of those moments (just in case).  There have been moments of temptation, of wanting to not work out, of wanting to crack open the Good and Plenty, to just eat chips from the bag without weighing them first. 

So far I've managed to resist.  Part of my resistance success is the success I've had so far-- It's been 6 and a half months, and I've lost a little over 60 lbs.  I've come a long way, and I don't want to blow it on something that is not worth it.

The progress that I've made on my health and my discipline and my wellbeing is too important to me to just toss it all away.

 According to my calculations-- I should be at a "normal" BMI somewhere during the summer if I can keep up doing what I'm doing.  (My app says June, but I think I'm going to stall at some point.)

I can do this.  I will do this.

I've come too far to have come this far and stopped.