In a new light

Since last weekend things have been good. I got to sub on volleyball teams twice, for early games no less. I was surprisingly good despite months off the sport. I sure was in pain afterward though, but it's a worthwhile kind of pain.

My weight is dropping. I am currently at 144, but again, I have made weight loss only a secondary objective. My main goal is now to be more active, and in that, I am succeeding. In addition to making healthier food choices in general, I now walk every day at lunch again, which has more benefits overall than volleyball or the gym I think. It energizes me, which makes me able to do all the other stuff.

This week I walked a bunch of places: to appointments, to class, home, to pick up produce, etc. Yesterday, since it was so beautiful outside, I went for a long, leisurely walk of about 1.5-2 hours in total I believe. My butt is thanking me by turning upward again and my stomach is getting flatter. People truly underestimate how effective walking is as an exercise, as long as you do a lot of it scattered throughout the day.

Aside: Here's an interesting read about yet another dodgy industry: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2013/03/08/f-vp-crowe-big-sugar.html

Aaaand, back to me.

So, as I told you a few weeks ago, I have been taking Evening Primrose Oil and waiting to see what kind of effect it will have on me. So my short-term report is that it makes me sleep soundly, which was an unanticipated but enjoyable side effect, and it definitely lessened the bloating/cramps I typically get just before and after Aunt Flo arrives. The primary reason I am taking it though is to see if it will make me more regular (so that, in turn, I can better predict/manage my emotional state at specific times in my cycle). I will only know if it's working after about three cycles, so I'll keep you posted.

Walking = feeling more energetic = less down about eating well/exercising (more into it = doing more of it) = weight loss and better overall mood. All that combined with putting less pressure on myself is a good thing. I have to remember that the VERY FIRST thing that made me able to lose all that weight years ago was when I decided to stop with the guilt over being fat, eating garbage and being lazy. To let go of the negative thinking and instead focus on doing something about it. And THAT is something to feel good about.