Moving in the Right Direction

As I sat down to write this entry, I was certain at least two days must have gone by since my last blog update. Alas, it has been one.  In the last twenty-four hours, though, I have managed to resist temptation and have not had anything sweet to eat. And let me tell ya, there have been some BIG cravings...huge!  Especially around three o'clock this afternoon.  I felt the slow burn radiate in the pit of my stomach, vibrate through my body, and the word, CHOCOLATE, stamped itself straight across my line of vision.  I felt the natural predator in me begin to mentally stalk its prey, traveling down familiar paths to where the known darlings were lying in wait.  (I feel like I should be whispering in an Australian accent right now. LOL)  My instincts told me to pounce, but luckily, I recognized the craving as simply a craving and not a life-or-death situation. Though, it SURE felt like it!  :)  So, I was a good girl and popped in a piece of gum, chugged some water, and reminded myself of my detox plan.  Caving in now, no matter how small it is, will simply set me back. And, I can do this!

Last night, while my son was at wrestling practice, I went to the gym and did a quick 30-minute workout.  I was frustrated at the small amount of time I had and started down the "well, that was hardly even worth it!" road.  But, there's so much more going on right now than a calorie burn, and I had to remind myself of that.  I did it!  I went to the gym for the second time this week!  I'm getting back into the habit, breaking old chains, forming new routines, and taking baby steps to get to where I want to be.  Progress, not perfection, right?  So, instead of getting twitchy about what I didn't do, I gave myself a pat on the back for even showing up at the gym on a cold, rushed evening.  Here's what I did:

Warm up: 
1 mile on the stationary bike (3 minutes and some change)
Stretches (No idea...forgot to time it. LOL)
Workout:
Free-weight cardio- I use 5 pound dumbbells, crank up the tunes, and do various upper body moves- 10 reps apiece, then go straight into the next set.  I mix it up...basically just having fun and it really does get me sweating.   I try to target every muscle group at least twice when I'm doing this and go for 20 minutes.  Last night, I had to cut it in half.  So 10 minutes.
3 miles on the bike- 12 minutes.
Cool down:
3 laps around the track (not even 1/2 a mile)- 5 minutes? Maybe?
Stretch

Since this was an abbreviated workout, everything was cut in half from what I had done previously. However, it's probably a good thing, since I'm no longer conditioned for an hour-long super-human-goddess-of-gym-equipment workouts.  Knowing me, I probably would have hurt myself if I'd been left unattended much longer. LOL 

So, today, I drank my water, made healthier choices, updated my blog, and survived yet another twelve hours of doing something that, at times, runs against the grain for me.  I haven't reached my destination, but I'm proud of myself for moving in the right direction.