September 26, 2013
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New Eyes
I just completed 10 weeks of my fitness regimen and here's my obligatory BEFORE/AFTER photo.
After dropping 10 pounds in the first few weeks, I'm now at the place in my training where I'm working on gaining muscle mass. This almost seems backwards in a world that spends so much time, energy and money on LOSING weight. So I've had to change my perspective of what it means to train, my overall definition of healthy living and recognize that my success, failure or whether or not I should feel satisfied, is not found in the constantly changing numbers on a glowing digital scale.
Take a look at my photo again real quick.
Understand that I didn't put up this photo hoping people will say something like, "Hey, great job, Riis!" or "Wow, you look fantastic!". No. This photos is up because I want to point out a few of the obstacles that sometimes prevent us from celebrating every success... big and small. See, I can't look at this photo and see success. While others may see the result of commitment and determination, what I see is all the work (at least in my head) that still needs to be done. I feel the weight of where I want to be and the hard reality that I'm still not there. I want you to understand that even after considering my progress, I'm still struggling with feelings of dissatisfaction. I wrestle with feeling like I messed up somewhere or that I've fallen behind or that I should have hit some ridiculous milestone... and that I'm failing.
But I've got new eyes.
And these eyes show me that every morning I wake up is a victory. Whether I complete 2 push-ups or 200... it's a victory. Spartacus workouts, 5k hikes, 45 minutes of hardcore cardio on a spinning bike... the fact that I've done any thing at all, is a victory. So when I'm tempted for some bizarre reason to pick up those old, negatively-tainted eyes, I look at a picture like this and remind myself that I'm one step closer than I was the day before.
Comments (5)
I like the after
I know you're not asking for it, but you've done a great job! I had some weight to lose, and I started walking and cutting out a little bit of sugar. It worked. It took a whole year, which was depressing and frustrating. It made me feel like I wanted to give up on it totally. It wasn't even that HIGH of a number of pounds. The good thing is that i didn't quit, and the changes I made were things I can keep doing, so hopefully unnecessary weight stays gone!
congrat's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know how you feel. I used to be really fit and had awesome arms and shoulders. I haven't been able to get back to my preferred 10-15 hours in the gym per week since having the girl. Most people say I look fantastic. I still wear a 2 or a 4 and look ok in a swimsuit, but all I can see is the six pack abs that are gone and the flabby backs of my arms...
You do look great though. Don't lose sight of that measure of success
I relate to you, oceanstarr.
And I'm proud of you, Riis. I always have been.