For the second week in a row I managed to go out for Mexican food last night and not pig out on chips and salsa. The basket sat right in front of me and I let my friends empty it. I can’t help but take a little pride in that because the dinner was kind of weird for other reasons I may write about later. It would have been easy to chow down.
And that might not even have been my biggest display of willpower last night.
By 9:30, I was in bed and slept soundly until the dog woke me up at 11:30. He needed to go outside. By the time he finished, I was wide awake. This has always been a dangerous time for me. It’s SO easy to rummage around in the kitchen and then pig out watching late-night TV. But I did not do this. Instead, I went back to bed and read until I fell back to sleep.
I overslept and didn’t know anything until I happened to wake up at 5:25 this morning. And this was actually another small victory. I have been going to an exercise class at 5:30 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. But instead of skipping it this morning because I overslept, I hurried off to the gym and joined the class about 10 minutes late.
From somewhere I seemed to have found the discipline and determination I’ve always had, but had been unable to summon for quite a while. It’s amazing how just a few small successes can make you feel better about yourself and make you want to keep working.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit I do not like the look of the fat guy confronting me in the photo above. But the scales say I’ve lost a bit of weight in the past month. I’ve done better in past 2-3 weeks than I’ve been able to do in past 2-3 years when it comes to eating healthy meals and not snacking in between meals. I’ve been doing resistance training — more than I’ve done when I’ve had success losing weight in the past. And I’ve been walking at lunch or still going on bike rides after work.
More importantly, some of my clothes are beginning to fit just a bit better. Maybe this will be the time I finally say goodbye for good to the fat guy in that photo.
Finally, I’d like to thank Lori and Danelle for their comments and support in this effort, along with anyone else who may be reading this and not commenting.
Brome Hill 
A few more small sucesses-that is great!! I especially like the fact that you slept in, but still made it to a workout. That takes dedication-lotsa people probably intended on working out this morning, but slept instead. You were not one of them!!! 🙂 Steady forward progress-if you take a few steps back, know you can make those up and then some.
Soon, eating healthier and exercising will become habits. Some might even say exercise is addictive. Well, that is one addiction I think is a good one to have-considering all of the other alternatives.
Always judge your progress by how your clothes fit. Adding resistance training in is key. At some point, your weight loss might slow, but your clothes will continue to fit better, then eventually get too loose!
Please continue to share your “small successes” on your blog- I love reading about them!
You’re doing great, Chris…I’m impressed by everything you chose to do/not do last night! (Maybe it’s time for Depends for the dog?)
Keep this in the front of your mind:
NOTHING tastes as good as thinner/healthier/more fit feels!!
Well I would leave a comment of encouragement, but nobody ever seems to see my nurturing side as encouraging. So I’ll leave my “Bravo!” and “Keep it going!” in my head.
Someone who thinks my friend Lesley has a nurturing side has obviously hacked into her computer to post a comment here. 🙂
But thank you anyway. Actually, I’ve always thought you were pretty encouraging.