Stalled

I'm writing this for me. You're welcome to read it, of course, I really love it when you read my almost-daily drivel. And I love when you write a few words and leave them here as comments. In this case, your comments are certainly welcome, but your advice isn't. Tea and sympathy, maybe. Encouragement to keep on keepin' on, CERTAINLY. But I'm not asking for advice.

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but hey. It's my blog and I'm setting up rules. At least for today's post. Heh.

I've been following this primal/paleo/cavewoman plan for four months, as of today. My weight loss has slowed considerably, after the initial whoosh. I weigh myself daily and I'm up 1.5 pounds already from Monday's official weigh-in.

Eating sugar and wheat (in the form of s'mores) over the weekend seems to have pushed the craving button in my brain. I'm certainly eating cleanly again, but I'm not loving it the way I did a few weeks ago.

Time to do an attitudinal about-face. And a reality check.

The bad stuff

• Pounds are not falling off any more. In fact, pounds are coming back (albeit only a couple).
• Cravings are kicking in (probably as a result of eating sugar).

The good stuff

• No. More. Pain. Anywhere!
• Lots more energy. Almost all the time!
• Greatly increased mobility – so grateful to be able to tie those new shoes. Heh.
• Meal-planning is MUCH simpler – pick a meat, pick a veg, dinner's DONE!
• Smaller-sized clothes fit comfortably and look great.
• Lots o'compliments.

Clearly the good stuff outweighs (heh) the bad, and I need to focus more on adding to that list.

The future good stuff

• I want even smaller-sized clothes to fit. (What I really want is to go shopping, but I refuse to buy new clothes in what I hope will be interim sizes.) 
• I want to run faster and farther without huffing and puffing. 
• I want to do another half-marathon (and I'm putting it out there that it will be the Oak City Half in Raleigh, NC, on November 1, 2014. How's that for a long-term goal?).

So. My plan is to go back and look at April's LoseIt logs, and eat like that again. My plan is to continue the daily walking/running streak (which began July 14 and is now up to 23 days). My plan is to keep showing up for yoga class on Saturday mornings. My plan is to find the 8-pound dumbbells. And use them.

Time to kick it up a notch.

One thing that concerns me is that if I keep kicking it up, I'm going to need to keep doing what I'm doing in order to maintain. Therefore, another attitudinal adjustment is in order.

So what if I do? I actually like walking and I love running. I like yoga. While I may never like or love weight-training, I can learn to use it to reach a goal and maybe, on the way to the goal, I'll at least appreciate the value of it.

Clearly, I'm fine with the food. And that's a good thing. And equally clearly, I understand the need for intentional activity, if not strictly for weight loss then for cardiovascular health, stress relief and mood-boosting.

Okay, enough drivel. If you made it all the way to the end, I truly thank you. Sometimes I just need to sort things out in writing in order to make them happen for real, for real.