Monday, July 6, 2009

Fat Chick vs. Food - Week Twenty Three

So…..this is not going that well. The weight loss thing, that is. Lots of other things are going well, but Fat Chick vs. Food? Not so much.

Keely pointed out to me the other day that not everything can go well all at once. While my first response was of the, ‘No fair!’ variety, she has a good point. Everything requires effort, and most people have a finite amount of effort in them (super mom types aside, but they at least have Percocet). I have a lot of shit I need to pay attention to, and usually one suffers at the hand of the other. It’s a priority thing, I guess.

I can invest my marriage OR weight loss. I can play with my kids OR clean the house. I can go to work OR get all my personal ducks in a row. I have to pick, and there are consequences to each.

I can hang out with my husband who is home every night for the first time in our married life, or I can leave him and the kids and hit the gym. You know how long I’ve been waiting for all of us to be on the same schedule and to be able to do regular things like eat dinner together every night? Fifteen years. No kidding.

I can quit my job and have a beautifully decorated and spotless house, wake up every morning and go for a run, play with the kids whenever I want, etc, or I can earn money and pay for things like shelter and food and clothing. You see where I am going with this.

For the last six months Fat Chick has been a high priority. She has received a lot of attention, and it’s been working! She’s dropped almost 30 pounds! This is quite a bit and has certainly improved my quality of life, my clothing options and fitness level. I’m feeling good. I could be feeling better if I was working on dropping the next 30 pounds, but….the whole priority thing has shifted somewhat.

This is not to say I have given up all together. I’m making concessions here and there. I’ve been taking the stairs quite a bit at work (and I work on the 12th floor, so that’s a lot of stairs), and the other night we all went for a bike ride. Sure, it was to get ice cream, but it was still a bike ride dammit!

I’m going to continue the Fat Chick posts because they keep me honest. I’m also going to start trying to get my family active with me, which shouldn’t be too hard because they love being outside now that summer is finally here. The Hubby and I even tried playing tennis last weekend. I’ve never played tennis before, and not surprisingly I completely suck, but so does he so there is a lot of running after balls going on. I’m hanging in there.

Fat and miserable is a terrible way to live, but I might be okay with fat and happy. For the short-term, anyway. SHORT TERM.

8 comments:

Fantastic Forrest said...

Good for you for bike riding and tennis! I'm glad you realize you can do those things with family - that you don't have to just hit the gym.

Summer is a great time to be active outdoors, but ice cream does have quite a siren call. Maybe next time you could get an iced coffee instead? Just a thought.

Good luck!

Michele said...

Exercise is exercise whether it is climbing the stairs or cleaning house. It is all a matter of balance. I say extend your goals so you can enjoy your family.

Sam said...

Thirty pounds! It sounds like you're just taking a well-deserved break!

Jennifer said...

Priorities are hard. I feel you. Maybe I need some percocet.

Anonymous said...

Sounds to me like you're doing just fine and are getting your ducks in a perfect row! 30lbs is great and more than most have lost. WTG keep up the good work.

kyooty said...

High 5's! way to go on the biking to the ice cream that sure beats driving for the ice cream in a car! or sending someone else to GET the ice cream!and it's spending time together!

Quack! your ducks are quacking and getting happy

Casey said...

Dude, I totally get you wanting to spend time with your family and life getting in the way of your daily workouts. I like the plan of getting your family involved in the fitness, it sounds like the perfect compromise. Until next time, keep it up (chasing your kids totally counts too!). Spend time with the family but watch your food intake, it's something?!?

Stacy Uncorked said...

You have the right attitude - prioritizing is a special talent, so it sounds like you're working some magic with that. Any activity is good activity, and is a form of working out so climbing stairs, riding bikes and chasing balls all count! :) Not to mention you already have a good head start with that 30 pounds...you ROCK! And 15 years waiting for everyone to be on the same schedule? I'd be enjoying those moments, too! :)