Heading to the scale at my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday morning, when I’ve had an awesome, strong week of running and eating — feels exciting, powerful.  The past two Saturdays, I got on the scale and faced a loss of .8 of a pound.  Two weeks in a row.  My initial reaction was — AGGGHHH, not enough!! I should have lost more!  MORE!  MOOOOREEE!!!  But my husband Peter pulled me aside both weeks and reminded me of what is important.

Progress.  Slow and Steady Progress.  (Remember the Turtle??)  Yea….I almost forgot about her…….

.8 of a pound doesn’t sound like much.  But, truth is…..losing .8 of a pound of fat is NOT the only thing that happened this week.  As I look at myself in the mirror, my (Super Duper Critical Eye) sees my body slimming up.  Say What?  Diane, is that REALLY YOU?  Giving yourself a compliment?   LOL, yea.         Weird -O, as my daughter Erin would say.

But seriously, I can see my waist slimming up.  The muscles in my core are firming up.  My biceps are little muscles now.  My legs are a little slimmer….with long lean muscles forming under the layers of fat that remain.  And for the first time, I’m focusing on, (AND appreciating), the presence of the muscles…instead of seeing just the fat.

This is a major breakthrough because there’s two BIG TRUTHS about muscle.

Truth #1:   Muscle weighs more than fat.  This is important because……not only did I lose .8 of a pound both of the last two weeks….but I’m also growing muscle.  So that’s BETTER than losing more fat.  And why is it better, you ask?  Well, that’s TRUTH #2.

Truth #2:  Muscle BURNS fat.  Muscles are like the Fat Furnace.  The more time you put into building muscle, you are investing in your fat burn later.  So what if ya gotta forgo a little weight loss now.  So WHAT!!  Give into it, accept it, and e.m.b.r.a.c.e. it!  I’m falling in love with those little muscles.  I love running my hands down my legs and feeling them.  Inside there — for the first time — are my symbols of strength.   I can actually see, and feel my knee caps.  Don’t laugh!  They’ve been buried under pounds of fat for a long time.  So these small, incremental changes that I am letting myself see every week — they encourage me.  they motivate me.  they make me believe…in myself.

Slow and Steady.  Week by week.  My knees are coming.  My biceps are coming.  My waist is coming.  My hips are coming.  My shape is coming.  All because I’m building muscle and burning fat.  Slow and Steady.  This is how I’m going to become another New Me.  The chrysalis is forming.  It’s wrapped around me, all warm and welcoming.  I’m going into it for 18 weeks.  I’m going to trust it.  Do my work.  And let Nature take care of the rest.

Tomorrow, I will be up at 5am.  I have 13 miles to run.  It’s Sunday.  Long Run Day.  From the first step to the last, I’ll be encouraging myself, calming myself, complimenting myself, pushing myself.  Every step, I’ll remind myself…..Slow and Steady Diane.  This is how I will do it.  Time will disappear,  I will be surrounded by Fall and Fresh Air.  I will be immersed in my thoughts….which are super positive.  Slow and Steady.  Time does not exist here.  Slow and Steady.  You will get there Diane.  Slow and Steady.

Ciao for now……Diane