The weekend is upon us. As usual for Friday I weighed in at an all time low this morning. Now that I have taken the time to delve into my issue with gaining back the weight and then some on Monday, I can’t claim ignorance any more. I know this happens. Now, if it happens again, shame on me! Not to beat myself up, because I’m not perfect (?!?) and it most likely will happen again. But I don’t want it to happen. I want to continue losing to a healthy weight and getting strong.
As of right now, my only plans this weekend are to eat out with friends tonight. I know the restaurant we are going to and I know I can order broiled cod and a salad. As long as I don’t smother that cod in the melted butter sitting next to it. And as long as I don’t drown the salad in the dressing.
Yesterday I ran/walked 3 miles on the treadmill. I upped my speed to see how it would go since I run at a very slow speed. I’ve been trying to push myself harder as I’m beginning to think the mental aspect of running is very powerful. I’ve been thinking all along that I’m just not a runner in a physical sense. But now that I’m in a little better shape, I want to explore this whole mental aspect to see where it leads. Am I holding myself back mentally? I’m trying to identify the thoughts I have that might be holding me back. The higher speed went well except needing to walk often to catch my breath. See that word “need”? That’s the mental side- do I really need to slow and walk? Something I thought about as I ran. I also developed quite a pain in my upper thigh/hip at the higher speed. Normally this would be an automatic “slow down and walk” for me. But I tried to really think about it. When I did walk, I only did so for a short time and kept trying the higher speed again and again. I was wondering why I was having that pain and what I could do differently.
Dinner last night was baked chicken breast tenderloins dusted with a mix of almond flour, parmesan cheese and italian seasoning. With steamed broccoli. Delicious.
This morning I spent some time listening to music on YouTube. What a lovely way to start into the weekend. YouTube is always fun because one click leads to another and leads to another. I think I will continue listening to some music throughout the day. Maybe some Pandora. Here’s one video I watched. I like this song, loved the voice and thought there was some pretty good eye candy too.
Ups and Downs 
Great post
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Thank you 🙂
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Running definitely has an intense mental element. I have to talk myself through every run I do. Every time I run I want to stop from about minute 3 until the end but the high afterwards is so worth it.
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Good to know. I definitely need to put more thought into this aspect.
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Your dinner looks delicious! I hope you have a fun night out with your friends tonight as well. 🙂
Running is definitely a mental game. Recently I had a really bad run where I physically I was probably okay, but mentally my wheels completely came off. I think those difficult ones are necessary though. They definitely make me appreciate the more effortless ones even more.
I love that you are starting to push outside of your comfort zone a little bit. Keep it up! It sounds like you are doing so great!
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Thank you for the encouragement! It means a lot to me 🙂
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I’m impressed that you’re upping your speed on the treadmill! Enjoy your time tonight. Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog.
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Thank you for the encouragement. I’m impressed too. I guess we don’t know what we’re capable of unless we try. I’ve been too stuck the last few years, but didn’t even think of it that way.
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Looks like you’ve already solved the restaraunt dilemma with your choices in advance. Nice job on the treadmill as well! I love the song. I’ll not comment about the eye candy. 😉
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Thanks, Rob! Sometimes I choose in advance but don’t follow through… I’m happy to report that I did this time. Broiled cod and salad.
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Loved your post Cynthia, in fact just loving your blog and the real honesty that’s coming through. You are definitely a runner – if you run, you are a runner. Have you thought about chanting a running mantra in your head as you run? It might sound a bit lame but they really worked for me. Even ‘I’m a runner, I’m a runner’ or something simple can really get you there. There are whole heap of us who are cheering for you, we might not be there to watch you run, but we are still cheering!
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Thank you so much, your comment means so much to me! I love the idea of chanting a running mantra- I will try that. I know I won’t believe ‘I’m a runner’ and it will sound weird, but chanting that will be a good start to believing it. Thank you for cheering, you are such an inspiration to me.
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Hey Cynthia, great post ! If you are running then you are a runner. 😉 I too use running mantras to keep pushing when the mind or the body hurts. running ricks, it will make you stronger, fitter and it will also help you feeling how awesome you truly are ! When I am about to stop I pick up a very short goal like the bench two meters away from me or 30 seconds on a machine and I push myself towards it, praising myself when reaching it and then I pick a new short easy to reach goal etc. It usually makes me go through the hardest time and I am so happy and proud once I reach the finish line ! Keep running ! You are awesome !
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Thank you! I like your short goals. I have done that too, but not enough. It does seem to work pretty well when I think to do it. You’re so inspiring and you rock!
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You rock too ! Keep running ! Hugs
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First, your recipes look delicious. Second, that video is on my all time sexy list. Bono and particularly on the video is hot as hell 🙂 During my time that I lost my weight, I had so many moments like that. But I tried to do something that I had never done before while dieting. I forgave myself and moved on. All previous diets, if I fell off the wagon (so to speak), I’d use that as an excuse to go completely off and often not getting back to healthy eating. I learned to put that aside and move on with good choices. After I started running, it got better. Weight was a bit easier to lose. If I ate extra calories, I ran an extra 10 minutes..etc. Don’t give up, it is so worth it.
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Thought of one other thing on running…I still do this. I pick a place or marker on the street/road and run to that point no matter how tired I was. Those markers became further apart and before I knew it, I had run 3 miles without stopping. I cannot tell you how special I felt that day! haha I’m coaching a friend on running and I just tell her to run until your legs are tired and burning, then run 25, 30, 50 more feet/yard. It’s mental for sure!
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Thanks, Charlotte for your comments! I have tried the marker idea, but not consistently. I’m going to try that more. It’s a good measure to push myself with. I can’t wait to have that special feeling after making it 3 miles 🙂 I notice I am getting stronger about not giving up on the dieting when I mess up. I think blogging has helped a lot to keep me going. It’s a great accountability too.
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