Ran to the office from home, 5 miles, no backpack (I took some clothes to work yesterday). Felt sluggish at first and better after warming up. After work ran to the Georgetown Running Co. to pick up race bibs for Saturday's race, ran back to the office to leave them there, and ran home again without a pack. Left calf hurt a little and right shin, but overall a great afternoon run.
After reading Michelle's blog, I decided to copy her and blog my weight every morning, to see if that makes me more accountable to eat better. I was very mad at myself this morning after discovering that I've gained 3 pounds since last month. My weight this morning was 143 lbs.
As I ran to work this morning, I tried to think of something that would make me take my weight issue more seriously. I am so good at getting up early and running or biking, why can't I be as good with controling my eating? One of the things that came to mind is the analogy of me and the environment. I'm extremely conscious of the environment we live in and do every little thing I can think of to make sure I pollute as little as possible. The environment we live in is like a sacred place that deserves that we do everything we can to make it look beautiful and healthy for many generations to come. When I buy things, I try to buy things with as little packaging as possible to create as little garbage as possible. When I go to the supermarket, I bring my own bags so I don't waste them. I print as little as possible at work. I recycle.
My body deserves to be treated as well as the environment. As a sacred place that needs to be cared for and be kept clean and beautiful, and not to be trashed. I need to think of body fat as trash that needs to be cleaned (within healthy limits, of course). Just like I wouldn't dump polluted water into a clean river, I shouldn't intake unhealthy foods that will create pollution in my body and make it unhealthy.
A friend of mine tried to give me the analogy of a car - saying you wouldn't fuel your car with juice or water, you put gasoline only, otherwise it won't run! Well, I'm a girl and not a big fan of cars so that didn't work for me.
But the environment analogy may work. It has to work. I want to be healthier. I owe it to myself, to my knees that are supporting me through all good and bad times, and to my belly that is tired of having to hide all the time and would like to be shown off every once in a while and not be embarrassed to be seen in public. I owe it to the nice clothes I have in my closet that I cannot wear.
Alright, sorry about that ramble. If any of you readers out there have a good recipe for healthy treats, some nutty oatmeal raisin cookies perhaps, or a healthy apple crisp recipe, please send it my way. | 