Your Check In

by Kris Pitcher

I was just certain it would be more...the number on the scale. After a week of "unstructured" eating while traveling for Jacques' competition at Nationals I was sure I'd be up another five pounds.

Admittedly, I did some stress eating. I ate some garbage...I ate plenty of carbs. My workouts also took a turn for the worse as all focus went to getting him on stage. I did get two cardio sessions in and did full body workouts right along side him.

To say I was off schedule would be putting it nicely. So, when I stepped on the scale Monday morning upon our return, I was surprised. Pleasantly.

And my point is, I was beating myself up over nothing. I hadn't over consumed, I had remained pretty active, and my body probably needed a little rest. I was fine.

Here I am, nine weeks into my off season and I am still wearing my little jeans with the sparkly back pockets. The very same jeans I wore for approximately one week last year. One week!

Sometimes we work things up in our heads to be much more than they are. What we really need is a bit of a reality check. By checking in with my numbers I could see that indeed, I wasn't 140 pounds as I was certain I must be. But I was holding at 134.

There simply isn't any need to beat yourself up. Circumstances won't always be perfect, and neither will you. You work with what you have and you move on. You get back on track. And that Monday morning following our Sunday return...I was up at 4:30am on the stairmaster.

If you find you're beginning to get worked up as the holidays near, give yourself a break until you can work in your workout. It will be waiting for you. There's nothing to get worked up about if you are making good choices along the way. Check in, before you get worked up!