Identity changes

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When I see ideas that I want to blog about I put the idea in an email because I always have access to email.  Last December I made a note that said "Do not give your past the power to define your future".  During the month of October in our Weight Watchers meetings we've been talking about the five levels of change.  We change our environment, our behaviors, our capabilities, our identities and our beliefs.  The one thing we cannot change is our past.  The thing we HAVE to change is our future.  

Used to be:  May 2011

Now I'm:  July 2014

One of the questions I hear often and one that I asked often during my weight loss journey was when does our brain catch up with the changes our body has made?  I think that the note I made back in December really plays into that.  Once we stop letting our past define who we are we can realize that our identity has changed.  

This past week in our meetings we asked the question:

I used to be _______________________________Now I'm _________________________________

I had a bunch of thoughts this week about how my identity has changed.  I used to be a couch potato, now I'm active.  I used to think that I had to follow the program perfectly, now I realize that it's about progress.  I used to be shy and embarrassed and now I try to embrace what makes me feel uncomfortable.  I used to avoid activity as much as possible so I could hide the fact that I was winded, sweating and exhausted. Now I've run 7 half marathons.

How have you changed your identity?

Woah - this has been awhile!

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Remember when I used to post every week?  My mom would call if I didn't to make sure I was ok if I didn't post.  I want to get back to it but struggle to find a balance between leading my Weight Watchers meetings and working out, taking care of the dogs and having some fun with Dan.  But... let me try to catch you up on what's been happening since I last posted.

Diane crossing the
LITH tri finish line

One morning in June I got up early to go watch the most amazing woman.  Her name is Diane and I met her at Weight Watchers.  We literally joined Weight Watchers on the same day and we celebrated milestones at nearly the same pace.  She was (and continues to be) an inspiration to me.  Diane took on her biggest challenge by completing her first triathlon.  I went out to cheer her on and I ran the final leg with her.  It was a beautiful thing watching her cross the finish line.

At the starting winery

I was still training, throughout the summer because I'd signed on to mentor for the Chicago and Napa/Sonoma half marathon training seasons with Team Challenge, again!  By the way, THANK YOU to everyone who donated to make a dream half marathon in California happen for me!  This was my first race without having Dan along for support.  Luckily, I had Barbara and Naomi close by.  I knew that the Napa to Sonoma race wasn't going to be a stellar race for me and I wasn't planning on setting a PR by any stretch of the imagination.  However, I was still disappointed when foot and ankle pain were too much to handle and I started walking near the 6 mile mark (just under half way).  I met some amazing people and definitely enjoyed the view of the spectacular course I was on though!  Then I got to hang out for a few days with Barbara and Naomi as we biked around Sonoma sampling some good and some great wines!

I gave myself some time off to recover from running since January but when I started to run again the pain that I'd had in my foot/ankle in Sonoma came back, with a vengeance.  I went to see a podiatrist, fearing that I'd really injured something, and he told me he thought that I had the beginnings of a stress fracture.  He told me I needed 2-3 weeks of rest.  Except, I was still training for my fall half marathon/goal race for the year.  I asked what I could do and he suggested swimming...

Diane came to my rescue.  She told me about a gym that had indoor pools and had a program for people who needed to join for medical reasons.  So, I joined.  After my first visit I knew I wanted to join for the winter!  I've been working some aquatic fitness classes into my schedule and on the days that I can't get to a class I run in the lap pool.

My weight has fluctuated but has been within reason.  I struggled after the half in July because I was still eating like I was running 4 days a week!  It took me awhile to get that under control but I suppose that's just a new lesson to learn.

So, what's been happening with you?  Catch me up on everything!