Diets and Weight Loss? No thank you!

In the many times I've started down the weight loss/running journey I've said that I was not on a diet. I was in the process of changing my life, not just an arbitrary diet "food plan". I still believe that to be very true...and here's why.

Let's say I start a diet plan and am able to stick with it for the year plus that it will take to get to a "goal weight". But, once I'm at the goal weight, then what? Most diets don't allow for a lot of flexibility or variation. That diet was all about losing weight, and I would no longer need to lose weight. So, I will have to go through a process of figuring out what eating is all about again at that weight and activity level.

On the other hand, what if I skipped the idea of diets all together and just focused on eating the proper amount of the right foods. All the while, I'm only adjusting the amount of food needed to support less weight. Once I reach that goal weight, there are absolutely no changes necessary to my "diet" other than to allow for a few more calories because I no longer need to lose weight. Other than that, I will continue to eat the same foods in the same way.

Now let me use the same philosophy to the weight loss itself. I now believe that to truly be successful, I can't afford to focus on weight loss (the number on the scale) as my goal. I need to find proper and measurable goals that will be around long after I reach a goal weight. Again, if my focus is weight loss and I have reached my goal weight, then I no longer have that focus and change is in order to find a new focus.

On the other hand, what if I have a set of continual running goals that were focused on improvement. (Now, let me stop for a second and be clear that I'm not necessarily talking about hard race goals, those will be important in the journey but they are not the journey itself, or the destination). Let's say I had a weekly or monthly goals of increasing mileage, or improving average pace, or improving my fastest mile time. Each would have its own milestone of improvement. Then, once I reach the goal weight, my goals carry on and have a life of their own. Yes they will be a little different over time but the overall goal is continual improvement.

I firmly believe, that when these two ideas (life change instead of diet & continual improvement goals) are married and acted on, I will achieve my "goal weight" (what every that actually is) and more.

But, in the end the one critical thing is that I never give up or quit (if only for a season) but to KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!!!!

Rut Mentality

Have you ever been stuck in a rut for so long that the rut itself became the normal?
Did you ever get out of it?
Did you fall back into it?
Multiple times?
Have you now permanently escaped the rut?
What did you do different than the times before?

These questions reveal a great deal into what my life has been like the last 4+ years. In and out of the same rut several times, but wanting to finally escape the rut to never return.

For those that have been in and out of the same ruts and have finally conquered them, what advice would you give to someone wanting to do the same?

These are not rhetorical questions. So please don't hesitate to respond.

Till Next Time...Take Care!!!

Want vs. Have?!

To those that routinely check this blog for updates, I apologize. I wish I could give a magic answer or explanation of things lately, but I can't. And if I could, I wouldn't need to explain anything to begin with.

However, I have not given up or thrown in the towel. I still stand by the new blog name of Freedom Running. The name does not exist to represent what I have, but what I want and what I'm looking for. Eventually, that will change, but for now, it is about what I want.

Speaking of what I want… One thing that has been on my mind lately is just that….what do I REALLY want? I mean, that deep down, close my eyes and SEE in my minds eye want. So many of us have talked about what we want to do or plan to do, even to the point of speaking as if it has already happened long before the chance to be so, only to never see it happen. But when it come to what I really want, I think there are two things in this area where I struggle.

First, I don't have a good picture of what I really want. When it comes to weight, health and running, close your eyes and picture what the perfect you (the goal you, the best you that you can imagine) looks like. And I don't mean a "Hollywood/Supermodel" you, I mean the you where you are exactly where you need to be. Lean. Fit. In shape. With a health body fat %, etc. For me, doing what I just suggested is nearly impossible. It is somewhat because I don't have a tangible image to go by (I've never been anywhere near a healthy weight, etc), it is purely my imagination. But I believe what really makes it so hard is the second half of the puzzle.

Second, I don't allow myself the freedom (and possibly the permission) to believe that I could ever become that perfect me. The lies take over, and work to squash any hope of reaching that goal.
"I've always been fat, always will be."
"I'm not worth fighting for."
"Who cares if I'm fat or fit?"
"What is the point of trying if you know you will never win?
The list can go on forever, but in the end they are lies. When I can see them for the lies they are, only then can I begin to have the freedom to see the perfect, goal me. Once that happens, then everyday becomes an opportunity to take one step towards that goal.

Again, I write the words, not as the steps taken to what I have, but as a part of the path to what I want. They may be worth nothing, or they may open the right door at the right time. Do you see yourself in these words?

Till Next Time...Take Care!!!