21-Day Habit (& a weigh-in)

According to research it takes 21 days to form a new habit. I did an Internet search for this fact because after a month or more of not exercising and a few weeks of not particularly watching what I eat I was curious how long it would take to get back into my groove. I thought I had gotten to a point in which exercising early in the a.m. was a habit and where not eating the scraps from the girls' sandwiches or having that piece of cake and a couple a cookies for dessert was second nature.

I guess habits are harder to make than to break!!

This week is the first week since last fall I've take the girls for a walk outside. Now of course we have been outside and there have been times we've gone for little strolls but I wouldn't call walking at a 3-1/2 year old's pace exercise especially when said 3-1/2 year old stops for every dandelion.

Tuesday morning and yesterday morning I packed snacks and juice cups, squeezed Gabrielle into the double stroller with her sister, and we headed for a walk. Gabrielle seems to have been fortunate to inherit her daddy's long legs (yes it will be a pain when it comes to buying jeans in the tween and teen years but I hope she will appreciate the tall lean build once she is an adult) and to put her in the double stroller is quite a task but she isn't quite so big that she complains about being uncomfortable so hopefully we can get through the summer. Our neighborhood is constant up and down hill and if I walk the entire circle it would be a little over 2 miles. I'm not quite at that point yet but the routes I've been taking have been about a mile. At the end of my first walk on Tuesday I thought about pushing the double stroller the first time last summer. What a difference!

Before this past December I did not own a scale. What I weighed was just never an issue or concern of mine. As long as I fit into my clothes I was happy. This is still somewhat true but I decided if I wanted to lose weight I needed that daily number to help motivate and push me. Anyway, last June when visiting my mom I weighed myself for the first time since my monthly doctor appointments while pregnant with Samantha. I was not happy with the number I saw. I knew it was not going to be good. I knew what I had weighed at my last doctor appointment and Samantha was only about 6 weeks old. I was the heaviest I have ever been in my entire life - 176 lbs. I decided right then I had to start exercising and get some of the weight off.

I can remember my first few walks. By the time I reached home my muscles burned, my legs itched and I could barely catch my breath. I was drenched in sweat and my face was so red I caused Ed to be more than concerned. My heart was beating and pounding so fast I felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. To say I was out of shape would have been an understatement. But I stuck to it at least until mid-September. I walked 3-4 times a week and there were some days I walked twice. I would walk in the morning pushing the girls in the double stroller which felt like a ton up hill in the NC summer heat and then I would walk solo after dinner when Ed was home, just to get a little mental break.

My walks this week have been so much easier. My muscles are still tight and the stroller, now even heavier with growing children, is still a challenge at times. I'm still out of breath by the time I reach home but now it only takes a few minutes to recover and feel energized. I no longer feel like my heart is going to explode and I no longer feel like I'm on the verge of passing out. When I compare how much better I feel all around now that a good bit of the weight is off and now that I am in so much better shape a smile comes to my face.

And this all brings me to the point of this whole weight-loss journey - to be at my healthiest for myself and for my family. If I never reach that magic number I came up with as my goal I'll be a little disappointed but I will be satisfied knowing I have come a long, long way since last summer and that I am feeling better than I have in a really long time.