A Familiar Feeling

A Familiar Feeling

This feeling is familiar.  It's a good feeling.  It's familiar because it's the same I felt when I first started losing weight successfully.  It makes me smile before I go to sleep and it wakes me with an empowering attitude to do it again and again.  This feeling only comes when I can honestly look myself in the mirror and know without doubt, I had a good day with food and exercise.

The element of experience has changed my personal rules and expectations, yet the feeling remains the same.  It's the type of joy that transcends temporary negative circumstances while it magnifies my gratitude for the blessings all around me.  Sure, I was in tooth pain...didn't matter, still joyous.  Sure, my vehicle sits in a parking lot across town in need of repair, waiting for a mechanic to give me the price to ride again...doesn't matter, still joyous.  Job stress, financial stress, relationship issues, spirituality challenges, all of these are no match for the joy and gratitude that becomes me when I'm walking the walk I talk. 

And when I'm experiencing this feeling, it allows me to envision my spiritual, health, business and personal relationship dreams ten times easier.  And you know, if we can see it, we can achieve it.  When I first started losing weight I closed my eyes and envisioned my success all the time.  There was rarely a day that passed that I didn't turn on the projector in my mind, revealing my ultimate goals in Technicolor-like detail.  I honestly didn't do this with intent of it helping me do anything other than become more excited in the moment.  I blindly stumbled upon the power of visualization. 

I mentioned how my experiences have shaped and changed my personal rules and expectations, here's an example:  I made an unexpected trip to one of our sister radio stations this morning.  It was approaching 11am when I made the delivery and I was ready to return home.  My breakfast was wearing off quickly by this point and I started to ponder my options.  I entertained the idea of "grabbing something" in a drive-through.  I know from experience that I could have found something to fit into my calorie budget, sure...But my personal rules and expectations have changed.

What was once acceptable for me, isn't anymore.  Grabbing some fast food and eating it while driving isn't the quality experience I want.  It worked for me before.  I stayed within my calorie budget and I exercised, and despite my choices, the weight loss success happened.  After watching several documentaries, including my favorite "Hungry For Change," I find myself desiring a cleaner way of eating.  I'm not perfect and that's not the pursuit, really.  I just want to feel better about my choices by assigning a value that goes beyond the calorie count. 

I still stand behind my "nothing is off limits" approach from the early days of my transformation because had I tried to change everything overnight, I would have been overwhelmed quickly, setting myself up for failure.  All good things in time.  This awakening of late is part of my gradual evolution of good choices.  I've said many times, the definition of "good choices" is different for each one of us and it changes as we change; as we evolve.

Social media helped me fight off the temptation of the drive-through today. I immediately sent my challenge out on Twitter with a declaration of resistance.  It worked.  The accountability factor strengthened my resolve instantly and I confidently drove away from Stillwater without a hand full of drive-through fare.  Thank you for your support!

I stopped at a grocery store on my way back into town and grabbed some fresh fruit and some sliced chicken breast.  I felt good about my choices.  I was victorious.  I was joyous.

I had a great workout tonight at the YMCA.  Playing racquetball against the wall was reminiscent of my early days.  Tackling the elliptical gave me a wonderful reminder of how easily our endurance can fade when we're not active.  At one time, an hour on the elliptical wasn't a big deal.  Tonight I was hurting at 20 minutes.  I'll be back again and again, no worries.

I enjoyed a couple of 93% lean turkey burgers with sliced tomatoes placed atop a Joseph's Pita with mozzarella and a salsa/low fat sour cream sauce for dinner.  It was right at 500 calories for the plate.  I had planned on sharing the pictures but my time is up!

I'll share some over the next few days.

By the way, I separated my Twitter feed from my facebook.  My three pronged social media approach each comes with different content style.  I use facebook for "micro-blogging," Twitter for "in the moment" type stuff and this blog for an overview of the experiences and insights along the way.

Getting back to goal is a matter of time.  It looks awesome by the way...because I've envisioned it and more.

Thank you for reading!  Goodnight and...

Good Choices,
Sean