Update on my "getting healthy" goals: Failure on all counts – or is it?

I'm looking out of the coffeehouse window, and dark clouds form the backdrop of my view, which means I should head home and get a run in before it rains or gets chilly. Already my motivation to exercise and eat well has waned.

In fact, since I posted in February that I would do a certain number of workouts a week and track my food intake via MyFitnessPal, I've not done well at all. I haven't gained any weight but I also have not got any closer to losing. I tracked just one full day of eating. I work out sporadically (though more consistently than I was) and it's so difficult to eat well when it's Girl Scout cookie time! And work trips always throw me off.

Of course, there's always an excuse waiting in the wings.


It made me think: What does that number on the scale mean? Because every year it becomes even more difficult to bring that number down. In part, it's a representation of my health level. I don't want that number to continue going up. Unfortunately, it's not exactly in my genes for that number to go down without a bit (actually a lot) of work.

To do so I feel like I can't eat anything, and must pair that with 45 minutes of hard exercise every day. It's just too much. And it takes too much time. Of course this is absurd, because I, like many of us, have no problem spending two hours in front of the TV each night if the right shows are on.

I'm probably too hard on myself. I have started working out more consistently since posting that blog about getting back on track. I've shaken off the dust, so to speak, on my winter muscles. In the past week, I've run at least two times, took a walk once, and biked to Lake McIntosh from my home here in Longmont. And who wouldn't be motivated by the views at Lake McIntosh ...

This isn't to say I'm giving up. I just think that every time I set out a plan to "lose weight" or "get healthy" or whatever I call it, I eventually fail. It is critical I eat well and stay in shape, but there's got to be another way to stay motivated. I'll find it.