Y2, Day 11

Training Week 6

Closing out week six it's getting harder to notice positive change in myself. I've started looking for the right yoga videos on youtube (some of them play too much into the 'yoga is an Indian culture' thing for my taste) and I've kept up on my training habit besides that, but everything seems 'business as usual' right now with only one exception. I'm hitting a point I've coached a lot of people through: Muscle-related weight gain. I'm finding that I, just like everyone else, have a hard time emotionally with muscle related weight gain. Besides that, I've been reverting to some old carb-heavy eating habits. It just got way too easy to go for the same huge portion of a high-carb meal every day! This means that not all of the weight I've gained has been muscle related, which makes the whole thing a lot more frustrating for me.

With that in mind, week 7 is all about focus and polish. I've printed up a reminder of my next weight goal along with a chart where I can put one of those foil star stickers on each pound shed, and some reminders of the habits I need to have every day in relation to my food intake. I keep having to remind myself that this isn't a massive failure. It's just a point where I have to say "whoops" and get back on track. Fortunately my awesome husband has been doing a stellar job of helping me keep my head on straight in this area. He reminds me that I *have* actually gained muscle and that I *am* actually looking slimmer and more fit than I used to.

That guy's a gem. He's my biggest supporter, sometimes my only supporter, and I don't think I could have made this much progress without him.

Speaking of which: I'd like to give mad props to Jared for walking 12 miles with me on Saturday so I wouldn't be alone for my distance and endurance training! My walking partner is getting married and moving away, so her schedule's all tied up now and I've been going it alone for a few days. But I really hate training alone. It sucks. I asked Jared to help me out and he gladly stepped in for the 12 mile challenge.

Not only has he helped me by walking with me on Saturday, but his recovery process has shed some light on my own progress. I've been incrementally increasing the distance I walk daily and weekly for almost two months now. Jared's also been working out daily for two months, but he isn't training for a marathon and so he hasn't been focusing on his distance or endurance over time. His workouts are generally 30 minutes on the elliptical in the morning, and his focus is way more on going as fast as possible for that 30 minutes.

When it came to walking 12 miles, he started out strong (and a little bit frustrated that I kept telling him to slow down). He walked the whole distance with the expected amount of slowing down on the second half and especially toward the end. We both spent Saturday gingerly limping around and wincing whenever we would try to stand up or sit down. Then the difference my progress has made for me started to show. I made sure to get us both walking around despite the pain on Saturday so we wouldn't stiffen up too much, and that was all my body needed. I was really stiff and sore when I first woke up on Sunday, but by the time I'd finished making breakfast my body had gotten with the program and I was fine. Today I feel great and I'm headed out for another walk on my regular training schedule. Jared, on the other hand, continued to suffer through the day yesterday. He handled it like a pro, but his body was still objecting to being put through the 12 mile walk.

What I've realized from watching him is that my body is bouncing back way faster than it used to, and I'm

learning a lot about how to help it along. The first five mile distance and endurance walk had me limping around for days afterward, but Saturday's 12 mile only took a little over a day to recover from! These are the 'non-scale victories' and they're harder to see, but they're so important to notice.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you should put your husband in pain so you can take pride in how much better than him you're doing! But I am encouraging you - and especially myself - to make sure we're noticing those victories that aren't proven in the number on the scale or the size on our pants. Those victories that are wrapped in progress, that you may not even notice if you're not looking for them, are so important to keeping up your desire to stay on track with your goals.

Here's to week 7 and even more progress!