Dieting and Hunger

During the throws of the dieting portion of my journey people would comment on my weight loss and I would be quick to say, “It hasn’t been easy. I am ALWAYS hungry!” My daughter finally took offense to this and told me basically to shut up. “Mom, they are complementing you; don’t ruin it with a complaint!” My feeling was that I was sharing that dieting is not easy and one of the greatest sacrifices wasn’t all the ice cream and cookies I had to give up but rather the constant nagging hunger that filled my days.

I don’t know if others would agree but hunger was the defining feeling I had the entire year I dieted. And even today as I struggle to maintain the weight loss hunger is a close enemy. The difference is that I have learned better coping mechanisms.

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The Start

Liz June 2012

 

Success stories are often pared down to “I had a weight/fitness issue; I made a decision to change; I followed a program (self created or popular commercial plan); I had success.”

Every time I would read these success stories in magazines or online when I was NOT feeling successful I felt more demoralized than inspired.

Liz July 2013

The stories I woudl read were always personal and there was inevitably explanations of how the person had gotten themselves into the condition they were in and usually there was some grand revelation brought on by a random comment from a loved one or a photo taken. But when I would read these stories I always felt a lack of connection. I never really understood the journey that took that person from revelation to success. I feel that even more now that I have my own story to tell and so I am going to take you on the journey with me. Maybe you will find something to connect with or just enjoy a little inspiration from another woman on a journey in life.

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Becoming a Triathlete at 50

 

Racing toward Transition 2

Racing toward Transition 2

It was a dream in the making for over 20 years. Back in 1990 I was sitting at my job in Connecticut and came across a black & white flyer advertising a new kind of sports event; a Sprint Triathlon: 1/2 mi swim, 12 mi bike & 3.1 mi run. I was totally intrigued. I knew how to bike and swim but the running was totally not my thing. I put the flyer aside and figured some day I might figure out how to do all that.That some day was this July 21 in Webster MA. I finally signed up for; showed up for; and completed my first Sprint Triathlon. It was part of the Athleta Irongirl Series and was the perfect event for me as an older, first timer. It was everything everyone had promised: An all-women event that nurtured all skill levels.

Running down the finisher’s chute and crossing the finish-line was one of the greatest feelings I’ve had (just below my wedding day and the birth-days of both my children.) As I ran toward that finish-line all the emotion of my hard work welled up inside. The nerves and anxiousness to prove to myself that I really could set a goal, work toward it and achieve it were all fading away, in its place I felt a growing sense of accomplishment.

The other day my husband said to me “you are an athlete” and that one simple phrase has re-defined and re-affirmed who I am in my “middle age”. I’ve said good-bye to my youthful 20’s, 30’s and even 40’s and learning to say good-bye to daily parenting and am ready to fully embrace this new definition of self.

“I am an athlete!”

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