Thursday, March 28, 2013

It's About Training, Not Weight Loss.

I've been skinny. 



I've been fat.



Really fat.



And I've been healthy.



Right now, I'm somewhere between healthy and fat. I have put on weight over the last few months, mostly because my food choices were terrible and my fitness activity was hit-and-miss. Since January 1st, I have run two different team relays, two full marathons, and a 10K on St. Patrick's Day. That seems like a lot, but it isn't. My daily training was non-existent. I showed up for the big events but completely blew off the routine running and strength training.

Poor eating choices. Missed workouts. Pfft, what did I expect? I put on weight. And now, I feel sluggish and out-of-shape.

Obviously, I need to do something about it. The old me would immediately get on the scale, assess the damage, and make a short-term challenge to drop the excess weight. It worked before, it will work again. Right? Wrong.

Sure, I lost weight. And I'm proud of that. But I'm in a different place right now. Yes, I'm carrying extra pounds. But I also ran a marathon this month. So my "out of shape" is very different than the "out of shape" of a few years ago.

This time, my plan is very different. I am not focusing on losing weight. In fact, I'm not even going to weigh myself. Why should I? My clothes fit tighter, my running pace is slower, and my weights are lighter. I don't need a scale to tell me that I need to improve.

Nope, this time I am going to focus on training. Not weight loss. Training. Oh, sure, I'll do the same things. I'll eat healthier, I'll make my workouts a priority and I'll run farther and faster. But I won't be weighing in every day. I'll do the right things and trust that my body will respond in the right way. The bottom line is, I don't want to be skinny. I want to be healthy. Strong. Powerful. And that will come.

And here I am this morning, fresh off a 5K run to kick-start my day. I think I'm on the right track!



So, what about you? Are you trying to shed pounds or are you building a healthier you? What are you training for?

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