Long, drawn-out entry about exercise / dieting to follow.
Not likely to interest anyone besides myself. (Sorry!)
For a while now (a couple months? maybe longer...), I've been trying to exercise more regularly. I'm not doing intense workouts, but I do try to do a little fast-paced walking and/or Wii boxing (Gold's Gym Cardio Workout) almost every day. (I do occasionally skip a day if I'm feeling under the weather or need a break.)
Along with the light exercise, I've also said goodbye to soft drinks. I probably should've taken note of the latest no-more-Coke starting date, but I didn't. It's been three or four months, probably.
Anyway, with the exercise and the water-instead-of-Dr. Pepper and a serious effort at not totally pigging out on unhealthy food (without actually forbiding myself a few treats now and then), I've been hoping to see some results.
The Wii balance board has been telling me that I'm slowly losing weight, but you (probably) know how it is. You lose a couple pounds, but in a day or two you're back to where you were. Then you lose a couple more and maybe only creep back up one pound. It's definitely not a speedy, steady, all-one-direction process.
So, with the numbers not being particularly inspiring, I look for other sources to confirm that, yes, my not-exactly-hard work is paying off. My arms feel slightly more toned, thanks to the boxing game. That's nice, but still not quite what I'd hoped for. I try to pay closer attention to how my clothes fit. Maybe something that used to be a bit tight is fitting more comfortably. (Please? It'd be nice...) Nope, no obvious changes there. (That is disappointing. I guess I need to ramp up my efforts or cut back further on the less healthy food. Or just give it more time, maybe.)
Then. Today. This morning. While getting dressed to go grocery shopping, I put on my wedding ring. (I'm not one who wears jewelry-- even my wedding ring-- every day. In fact, I usually only put it on when I leave the house.) The ring has been a little tight for a while, now-- especially in the hotter time of the year, I think. Well, despite the heat of August, it was noticeably looser on my finger. (!!!)
What? Why aren't you all jumping up and down? Why do I not hear squealing? ;o)
This may not seem like much, but it was enough to make me happy!
It's amazing; that exercise / watching your diet stuff really works, huh? (Even if it takes longer than we'd like.)
...Now I just hope it wasn't a fluke. Maybe the next time I go to put on the ring, it'll be back to its former slightly-tight status. If you hear a distant, furious scream ending in a sigh of defeat, you'll know my fingers have re-pudgified and that I will soon be defiantly stuffing my face with pepperoni pizza (in between gulps of Dr. Pepper). (g)
Seriously, though, I'm going to stick to my no-Coke diet for the foreseeable future-- and try to keep up with the exercise and (somewhat) healthier eating. Getting into the habit is the hard part. By comparison, staying there with it isn't so difficult.
