Beating the 30 Day Slump

The Good: I made it through the first month of Turbo Fire! Well, technically I'm still in the middle of week 4, but I'm going off of dates here. I started July 2nd, and here we are at the end of the month already. I've lost 9 lbs and a total of 9 inches so far. I feel great. My clothes are loose, and I actually fit into some clothes that I haven't worn in years. I just kept them around in the hopes that someday I'd actually be able to wear them again, and now that day is here! It's fantastic.

The Bad: Why does there need to be a "Bad"? I wish everything could just be listed under "The Good". But here it is. Every time I start a workout program, I do an awesome job for the first 30 days. I stay on track with my eating, I work out the whole time, and I see great results. Then, just when I'm first tasting some success, I slack off. I stop being as careful with what I eat, I skip workouts here and there, and eventually I give up altogether. The longest I've made it into a program is about 45 days, and even that number is a little shaky since I was skipping workouts so often. I can't explain why I let this happen every time. Maybe it's because I just get tired of working so hard. Or maybe I'm scared of success. Whatever it is, it is NOT going to hold me back this time. For one thing, I joined a challenge group to help me get through the whole program. The difference it's making for me is already huge. Every time I think of skipping a workout, I think about how I'm going to have to tell the group. Plus everyone is so encouraging and supportive, I'd feel like I was letting them down. The other thing that's helping me is this blog. Every time I skip a workout or eat something crappy, I think about how I'm going to have to talk about it in my blog. It's good motivation to do the right thing.

This last weekend was tough because I could see myself hitting the "30 Day Slump". We were in Albuquerque for Jon's birthday, so it was the perfect excuse to skip two workouts and eat somewhat unhealthy. I didn't completely ruin my diet, but I did have a few bites of cake and a couple of buffalo wings. (Now that I'm writing it here, that food doesn't seem so bad. I guess that shows some improvement! Haha) Then when we got home, I was just not in workout mode. I was still making healthy food, but I was definitely not feeling the workouts. I skipped one more on Sunday night.

Yesterday, I woke up determined to get back on track. I'm not going to fall back into my old habits just because I've never made it farther than this before. It's time for me to finally succeed. I'm making up the workouts I skipped by doubling up a couple of the days this week, and I'm still eating healthy. I'm going to plow through the next 30 days!  I'm excited to see where I'll be a month from now!

 (The difference a month can make)