52 DAYS OF FITNESS CHALLENGE: DAY 26

A Renewed Commitment To Fitness Results In A Small Gain… Er, Loss

Resistance may not be futile.

Hello, everyone. And a happy Friday to you.

It’s day 26 of my 52 Days To Fitness Challenge.

I am halfway through. And I have a personal philosophy about the halfway mark of anything: It is the point of no return. If you get halfway through anything, you will get the whole way.

Or, at least, historically, I have. And I don’t see why this will be any different.

Having said that, anyone who’s been following along will know that I am not halfway through my actual weight loss goal of 10 pounds by mid-August.

Nope. Far from it. It’s been 26 days of losing and re-gaining the same 2.6 pounds, almost exactly. (Hey, 26 and 2.6. Whaddup with that?)

And I’m not blaming anyone or anything but myself and my wavering commitment.

Why have I not been able to focus and make weight loss a priority?

The short answer is because I just love food too much.

The long answer is probably much more psychologically complicated, but I wrote a little about it here:

Today, however, I have a little good news on the weight loss front.

And some even better news on the messy, complicated, emotional, psychological front.

Let’s take a look.

Today’s Weigh-In: I Mean, It Could Be Worse

When I started this challenge on Monday, June 26th, I weighed ABCD.E pounds.

Today (Friday, July 21st), I weigh ABCD.E pounds minus 2.4 pounds.

Victory! Kind of. This is actually exactly what I weighed last Friday.

In other words, I’m not losing much.

I’m also not gaining. I’ll take that any day.

What’s more, after reading a few articles about the weight loss benefits of resistance training, I’ve reduced my cardio and incorporated weights into my regular workout.

I’m definitely burning fewer calories, but after just two sessions with the dumbbells (10 pounds, 6 sets of 8 reps of bicep curls and tricep presses), I feel stronger and more toned.

Is it possible that I actually am stronger and more toned? After just two sessions, I don’t see how.

But the mind is a powerful thing. Just feeling this way makes me want to feel this way more, if you see what I mean.

In other words, feeling good after a workout makes me want to work out more. It’s a powerful and positively self-perpetuating cycle.

Plus I’ve told my jacked son that I’m going to challenge him to an arm wrestle at the end of summer, and I want to win.

(This isn’t my kid. I think I could beat this kid in an arm wrestle.)

But, Guys, Here’s The Real Victory

I’m eating less.

Not a ton less. But just more mindfully.

Last night, for example, I was up late working on an article, and I thought that a nice plate of cheese and crackers, perhaps with a side of Oreos, would somehow make the whole tedious task more pleasant.

I mean, it probably would have. But I knew I wasn’t hungry. I’d had a substantial (and healthy) dinner of eggs, veggies, and lots of fruit.

I was just — as I so often am — “hungry.” Bored, maybe, or tired, or frustrated with my stubborn article that didn’t seem to want to be written, or… something else.

Whatever it was, I knew my need was not physical.

And I just resisted. That’s all. (Resistance, plus resistance training? If that isn’t a magic formula, I don’t know what is).

There’s no science to it. It was just will power, fueled by a reminder to myself that I had to weigh myself in the morning and let you all know how it went.

I know the psychology of will power can’t be sustained long term. Future cravings for cheese and crackers are going to have to be mitigated in more organic, less painful ways.

But for now, it’s a victory.

And it makes me feel like there are more to come.

Thanks so much for reading, everyone. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Please check back on Tuesday for my next update.

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