The other night on Pesach I heard wonderful and inspirational words of Torah from Rabbi Silver. He spoke about prayer and growing as a Jew. He has always been religious, but he spoke about slightly envying those who come to religion as adults and have to work hard to change their lives. Rabbi Silver used the classic example of trying to go up a down escalator. If you stand still, you'll simply go down. And if you walk you'll only stay in the same place. But if you run, you'll eventually reach the top. It may be more difficult, but that's part of what makes the accomplishment more satisfying.
This morning I realized that idea is what is happening to me right now with my weight loss goals. But I'm not reaching anything. I'm running and running and running (literally) but I'm no closer than when I began. I can talk about strength and endurance and inches lost all I want, but my actual declared goal is weight loss. Is my version of "running" really "walking"? Is my body that resistant?
Pesach is amazing and awe-inspiring...but it's also a holiday that can make you feel like you're pregnant with a big bloated matzoh baby! And just like after having a real baby, after Pesach it can take a while to de-swell. However, in the meantime, I feel so discouraged.
Sometimes when you feel discouraged, it helps to change things up a bit so you can feel like you're trying something new. So even though at Max10 I get the hardest workout imaginable, and even though I absolutely love to kick-box, at the end of this session I'm switching to something new that takes more endurance: running. I'll definitely keep my gloves and buy a pair of focus mitts, so I can continue to train. Maybe I'll even exchange lessons with my husband. I'll teach him to kick-box and he'll teach me Krav Maga.
I'll be keeping my babysitter and every morning running the 2.4 mile Seward Park Loop, plus the walk there and back, which will be a total of 3.8 miles. The whole walk back is uphill. My MP3 player will need some more "let's move it" songs. Recommendations?
If THIS doesn't whip my behind into shape, I don't know what will!
I'm so glad you are switching to running. I'll bet you anything the pounds are going to just fly off. When I started on the bike, it helped me lose more weight. I went from 1 pound a week to 2. Of course, then Pesach happened... For your MP3 player: get everything by Bruno Mars, Christina Aguilera, and Melanie Fiona. PS. When mom told me the escalator story, I also thought it reminded me of dieting :)
ReplyDeleteJess- I love your blog. I'll be needing this kind of inspiration again in about 15 weeks ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen I got into running- I subscribed to DJ Tiesto's radio podcast. Each one was about 45 minutes of upbeat, energetic music- great for running. There is new one weekly, so it never gets boring (and its free). -Devorah
LOVE this post. I've been awful at my diet lately and white I haven't gained a pound (shocking since I ate the world this past month!) I feel like crap and my blood sugar is way too high. I'm gonna take your advice and go up that escalator (I won't run but I will go back to my daily 30 min power-walk).
ReplyDeleteThanks Jess! Keep up the good work and the great blog!!!
Thanks for your comments! I love getting tips and motivation from my friends!
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