{Working Out Wednesday} - I'm like a Marine with it...

Remember the old saying "We do more before 6am than most people do all day."?

I'm not sure if it was the Army or the Marines but I remember that slogan from back in the day. Every morning, when my alarm goes off at 3/4am that's easily the first thing that pops into my head. This morning, I had a ton of stuff to do before going into the office at 7. I got 85% of it done, even making breakfast before rushing out at 5:30 to begin my commute.

With a cup of coffee in hand, I felt grrrreat! I got in a full body weight workout, gathered and printed all of my receipts for my monthly expense report, ironed my clothes, showered and assembled my (fruit) snacks for the day. I told y'all, I'm going IN! I'm starting to notice a slight difference in the way that my uniforms are fitting and in the level of energy I'm feeling.

It's hard not to put a timeline on how much I'd like to weigh by when, what size I'd like to be and blah blah blah. But the truth is, and what I have to keep telling myself, is that I did not get this way overnight and I should not expect it to go away overnight. All that I have control over is maintaining my momentum and being cognizant of what, how and why I am eating.

For a long time, arguably most of my life, I was an emotional eater. I ate when I was happy, mad, sad, depressed, bored, awake, sleepy, had the munchies, was offered or smelled it. Now, I make it a point to remind myself that I do not eat out of boredom or comfort but for nutrition and energy. Because I am drawn to greasy food (not cakes, pies, candy, sweets or (soda) pop) driving for a living presents challenges by way of (just about any) fast food  restaurants.

In order to preempt any cravings I may have; I leave my debit card at home and make it a point to pack my lunch. But inevitably, there are those couple days a week where I neglect to pack my lunch in which case I tell myself that I'm allowed take out for lunch, but only something comparable to what I would have packed for myself. So Jimmy John's, Subway or Quiznos typically wins out.

The biggest challenge for me is just to maintain my workout regimen. What's amazing to me is that some days, especially during those early morning workouts, I'm reluctant to get up and go for it, but I always feel better while I'm doing it and especially after. A good workout first thing in the morning is better than a cup of coffee. (But I'll take the coffee too, thanks!)