Go Confidently In The Direction Of Your Dreams...

So I've gone back to fully determined dieting mode.  I'm far from doing it flawlessly, but I am being far better.  I've been drinking more water and exercising more.  Trying to minimize bad foods.  I've now lost 135.5 lbs.  I'm beginning to fear I'll never feel satisfied, so I'm going to set my limit at 139.5 lbs.  Which means I still have right at 25 more lbs to lose. :/  But, I'm already well below what I dreamed possible before, so I'll take it a day at a time.

I wanted to remind you all how important drinking plenty of water is to the diet.  We've all heard it.  We all tend to ignore it.  Well here is one thing I hadn't heard about water until recently.  Drinking plenty of water can help your skin remain firmer during rapid weight loss.  How about that for incentive?  Also, water enables your liver to process fat more effectively.  So there's that.  And, if you don't drink enough water, your body actually clings to its fat deposits.  So drinking enough water alone without even dieting and exercising would likely help you shed at least a few pounds.  So put all those things together, and you have a very, very simple new weapon in your weight loss arsenal.  If you're not a big water drinker (I wasn't at all!), here's another interesting detail.  If you're rarely thirsty or rarely desire water, it is likely because you're not drinking enough water.  Make yourself drink enough water for a day or two, and you'll miraculously find yourself wanting water all the time.  Problem. Solved. :)

The idea of a perfect summer was so motivating to me when I began this diet.  The things I would do, the places I would go.  This summer has exceeded expectations.  I hiked to the loveliest waterfalls, I stood on top of a mountain and gazed downward at the clouds, I've been so overwhelmed with the beauty of nature that it brought tears to my eyes.  I've sunbathed without a care in the world to the point that I'm a quite lovely shade of bronze which is a welcome change from my typical paleness.  I play disc golf outside every weekend in 90 degree weather, and feel even better after I do it.  I am not the same person at all.  It blows my mind.  In some ways I'm the very antithesis of my old self.   

A brief moment last night seemed to epitomize the entirety of this summer.  I took the trash out down the way, and felt like sprinting homeward.  I ran as fast and as hard as I could.  Not caring who saw me.  Not caring about anything except the fact that I could do this.  And in those moments I felt weightless and strong.  I felt unstoppable and truly free.  I used to have recurring dreams as a child of simply running out my front door.  No destination in mind, just running as far and as fast as I could.  It was always a good feeling in the dream.  I didn't feel like I was running from or to anything in the world.  I was simply running.  That was something I never did as a child really.  I never did it as an adult either until last night.  And somehow I wonder if that's what my childhood dream was meant for, to show me where happiness lies...in simply being, in simply doing.  I always used to wonder what I was running from or where I was going.  I suppose I know now, and I'll run in this same direction for the rest of my life now.  Most. Gladly. :)
 

Me.  7.27.11

“Frustration is the first step towards improvement. I have no incentive to improve if I’m content with what I can do and if I’m completely satisfied with my pace, distance and form as a runner. It’s only when I face frustration and use it to fuel my dedication that I feel myself moving forwards.” ~ John Bingham