Finding Balance and Staying Sound

So today marks the final day of April - therefore the end of #20daysinapril.

A couple of stats....

- By the end of today I will have exercised 23 days in April...I wish I'd put on a pedometer at the beginning of the month, because the amount of miles I've logged walking would probably be impressive.  (For the record, we have this great elliptical/recumbent bike in our garage for me to use now that I've discontinued my gym membership...the only problem - it's still in the box!) Fortunately, the weather has been very cooperative and conducive to walking.

- I haven't ever "stomped on my cell phone" this month.  I've dropped it - and perhaps kicked it a little bit - but, even when I'm splurging I feel like I'm making better choices on what to splurge on.  Really, I can't imagine exceeding 2500 calories on any one day this month...most days I've probably stayed around 1500 calories, with a whole lot more protein than usual in my diet.

- And....Drum Roll Please.....as of this morning, (Are you ready for this?) I've lost a grand total of....... .5 pounds since the beginning of the month.   ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!????!!!!  When the scales have been their kindest, I've lost 2.5 pounds, but as of now, I'm back up again.  Apparently, I had too many almonds last night....

So, that brings me back to the title of the blog post.  This month has been a good exercise (no pun intended) in creating better habits and breaking bad ones.  The first week was me in a very bad mood, feeling deprived and unhappy with my body.  As the weeks have progressed, I've found new foods I really enjoy (I suspect my cholesterol would be GREAT right now) and have settled in to a pattern.  I have LOVED my walks - in fact, today, I think I might try to work in two just because I can't wait for this afternoon to meet with someone, I want to get out this morning.  I've tried to take advice of Jonna to walk with my core sucked in, and to look for any hill route I can find to get the cardio going.  Because of my neck, I really try to stay away from high impact exercise.

Yeah, that "staying sound" thing - really working on that.  And, I've found success.  I've taken less prescription pain-killers this month than probably any other month in the last five years.  This is HUGE!  I've had some setbacks, but it's felt good to feel good.

Final thoughts:

- Because it's been a HUGE accountability to me (even if no one is even noticing), I will be continuing into May with #20daysinmay.  I will give myself some liberties on Mother's Day and Memorial Day Weekend, though!

- I've got to try a bit harder to drop it down on the scales - at least by 5 pounds.  Michele has totally passed me up again (though she's earned it...she has a dr. appt tomorrow as accountability....I'm counting on a total backslide after the appt. to even us up a bit).  It's not the numbers so much, but summer is always a bear for me and I have to enter it a little bit lower.

- For sure, my body has changed.  The curves are better than they were, in the more appropriate places, but fat converted to muscle only accounts for so much.  Still waiting for the metabolism to kick in bigtime.

- I'm seeking to somehow find contentment without grazing simultaneously.  A hard one for me.  Night times just aren't fun unless I'm snacking while relaxing.  I feel like so much of this is just an act of obedience/discipline for me and its a vice I fight to give up.  I'm trying to reconvert my thinking from "all or nothing" to eating for a reason, and with good choices in mind.   Like this breakfast - Yoplait Coconut Greek Yogurt with fresh strawberries and, yes...a splattering of mini chocolate chips...because, yes, there still has to be some fun in life. =D