Slow and Steady

 


It may not be anything earth-shattering, but I'm definitely making progress. And that's the idea, right? Inch toward the finish line by making small changes that become habits. Since I last posted, I've been sticking to my small changes pretty well. I've been continuing to take my lunch to work most days instead of going out or getting take out (although I've allowed myself one or two exceptions). Heck, I've even stopped visiting the candy drawer at the office every day, and that was getting to be the wrong kind of habit. My significant other has been knocking it out of the park with home cooking (he's phenomenal with the sous vide and smoker, as well as more traditional means), which has meant we've mostly avoided eating out and getting take out/delivery. And, for the most part, I'm staying away from alcohol except Fridays and Saturdays. (See No Diets post for more info on my thought process here.) 

Additionally, I've been riding pretty regularly. Sadly, a chock full work schedule and the dearth of daylight during non-work hours means almost all my riding has been done in the basement on my trusty Bianchi Imola, which is attached to a trainer, but needs must. And the trainer allows me to log more miles and keep my average speed much higher (14-15 mph average and even had a 16 mph average the other day) than struggling on a mountain bike trail. It's just not as fun. I think I'll be able to get out on the trail this weekend, though. 

Thankfully, I have had the opportunity to spend some time outdoors and stave off my cabin fever. Since I last checked in, I've done 4 hikes with the dogs.

The combination of new eating/drinking habits and more riding has allowed me to drop some weight. As I've mentioned before, weight loss and seeing a certain number on the scale isn't the end goal--it's a tactic to get me to the end goal, which is being fit and able to do all the activities I want to do without struggling. But tracking weight is still a way to measure progress.  

Here are some stats:

Miles ridden since last check in: 115.5
Total miles ridden in January: 138.6
Miles hiked since last check in: 6.44
Total miles hiked in January: 7.5
Pounds lost since last check in: 5.4
Net pounds lost since October 1: 9.2 
 


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