Kiss My ... Adversity?

I am not sure how to feel.  I probably should feel frustrated.  I should feel unhappy, however I am not even though the weigh scale went up this week instead of down.  I was up today 1.6 lbs.  I mean it's not a lot of weight, that's the equivalent of one good visit to the bathroom (sorry for the possible mental image).  There is any number of reasons for the fact that I gained, I may not have drank enough water, ate too much sodium, etc.. etc... I know that I didn't cheat, and I know that I worked out hard even though I had to take Wed. off to work at the studio and on my sermon for Sunday.  So while I am not overly happy, but I am far from throwing the towel in and burying my head in a bag of chips and a cake.

I think adversity is good for us.  If we don't have it then we can't say we really overcame anything.  Adversity ensures that we don't get lazy, it should inspire us to kick things up a notch.  If anything this reminds to be even more diligent in my eating, and my work-outs.

Speaking of intensity, it's really fun to watch people at the gym work-out.  There are the soccer moms who are really working it,  guys who are pushing themselves so they can show the soccer moms how to work it and lot's in-between.  My favorite people are the ones who are so obvious about their dislike for the gym.  They do a set, then hang out on the machine for 10 minutes, do another set and then seem to call it a day.  I hope I don't look like them.  I feel sorry for them, and count myself blessed because I actually enjoy the gym (at least I do now) and have always been into sports.  I realize its a hard place for some because they would rather be getting a tooth pulled at the dentist's without freezing than being at a gym.  I hope someone told them that 90% of losing weight is diet and that if they walked around the house and were stricter on their diet they wouldn't have to be at a place they hate; trying to pretend they know what they are doing and that they like it.

Adversity kicks my intensity levels up usually.  I like a challenge, and this upcoming week I am sure will be another success. That's the way you have to look at it.  If life is all about numbers, be it the amount in your bank account, the number on the weigh scale, or even the numbers of friends you have on facebook, then we have really missed the point of why we are doing something in the first place.  In fact I think we can miss out on a lot of good things that are happening in our lives by giving a number the power to determine my emotional capability of any given day.

Numbers are simply metrics to measure how we are doing in accomplishing our goals.  Here's what I know I am doing well:
1).  I am not cheating myself by eating foods that are unhealthy (fried, sugary, empty carbs, loaded with bad fats)
2).  I am not bingeing because I am eating at regular intervals in my day.  I may need to watch my portion control more closely as I have lost almost 35 lbs to date which means I may need to decrease my caloric intake.
3).  I am not snacking late into the night.
4).  I am Drinking water regularly.

One area that I have seen a drastic improvement is sleep.  I used to never sleep more than 5-6 hours a night.  Now I regularly get 7-8 hours of sleep, and I notice that if I don't my work-out the next morning is that much harder as I am not able to focus and push myself.

I hope that you are doing well in your goals, if you are facing an uphill battle, keep going it just makes winning that much better. I say bring on the adversity, so I can kick its ass one more time.

Blake