Free Day? Or not so much?

So this is my two week anniversary with Spark, and I've had a few thoughts along the way. As I've been inconsistently 'trying' to get fit for years, though never truly succeeding, I think I've tried close to everything. What I tried for weeks and months has not taught me as much as these two weeks have. Here is what I've learned:

1) Yes, I've always heard that tracking your foods are a great way to keep yourself in check with your diet, and its true. Though when I tracked before, I just saw the food, not its components. Now, I know exactly what I'm eating. That has more than benefited me these past two weeks. That alone would be worth it.

2)Yes, I was told that regular exercise is a surefire way to lose weight, and its true. And I've exercised a LOT over the years, but never with consistency. After all I've read and done, I should be the expert. But I'm not. And again, being told to write down the workouts was always a help, but seeing the calories burned and the mileage tracked online is a complete visual of what I've done. Charts and graphs are fitness porn for me! :)

3) Yes, I've been told that we need a support system when we go through a change such as this. I've always told people that I'm working out, or running for a race, and they've cheered me on, but unless they were going through the same thing, (and they weren't) I never got the same encouragement as I've received here over the past two weeks. From absolute strangers! Why? Because they reached or are reaching their own physical and mental goals. They know the struggles, the panting and huffing, the JUST. ONE. MORE.

So that brings me to the title of my notes here for tonight. Today, I took a break from the food watching and exercising logging, and went to Canada's Wonderland for the day. Amusement park food - over priced and oversized. Again, I've always read that a "free day" is a good way to feel that you aren't 'depriving' yourself of your favorite foods. I took advantage of that free day, and now I'm wondering if its really worth it. Even after only two weeks of 'good food', I feel sick from the (oh-so-good) burger, the fries, the pop, the funnel cake and the DQ afterwards on the way home. I would NEVER normally eat this way, even before SP! Has all my work these past two weeks been for naught? Perhaps not. (tee hee!) But I feel like it is. Mentally, I feel like I'm starting over from scratch again. I feel bigger, my energy is low, despite all that sugar. And I feel like I have to Force rather than Push myself extra hard tomorrow when I run, in order to rid myself of the extra junk now in my system. So though I will get back on track tomorrow, I don't think I will have another "free day", at least certainly not to this extreme. I would rather eat my favorite foods very sparingly, than feast on them one day of the week. WHo knows? Perhaps they won't be my favorite foods (ice cream ice cream ice cream) for much longer.

Carla

A sign noted on the way home today I thought was funny:

A balanced diet is an ice cream in each hand.