Getting back into the swing of things.

Last year, my thing was The Biggest Loser.

I love(d) that show. I know that’s it’s sappy, not intellectually fulfilling, cheap-to-produce reality TV, but … there’s something really powerful about this group of people working to overcome the biggest obstacle of their lives, and the stress and drama around that was always more important than the race to actually be “the biggest loser” and get the money at the end.

Not the most toned I've ever been, but bear with me hereMe and Tony and our friends' wedding in July

Left: Me on our wedding day, last September. Right: Me, about 12 pounds heavier, and Tony this June at our friends Alicia and Joe’s wedding.

I also got married last year, and I was on a roll, really motivated to lose weight for the wedding. I did it mostly by walking and counting my calories using a really great website called The Daily Plate. Between May and the wedding at the end of September, I met my goal weight and lost 25 pounds. And after the wedding, I was still going, watching my favorite show, doing sit-ups during commercial breaks and counting calories and getting my hour of weight lifting in at the gym three days a week.

Then, in late November, around Thanksgiving, I got a little cold.

First my husband Tony caught the cold, and I was taking care of him. Then I caught the cold. And I missed a week at the gym.

And that was it, that was enough for me to throw my whole routine and say, “screw it, I feel like crap and dieting is so much work,” and just stop. Everything.

Time flew by. Tony and I were working on buying our first house and things had gotten a little hectic at work. Making the time to work out didn’t seem so important. Counting calories was a chore. And by the time it was August and we had the house and I had some structure back to my life after the move, I realized I had gained almost half of those 25 pounds back.

The thing with losing weight and keeping it off that took me a long time to realize/internalize is that its not about the battle to lose 10 or 20 or 50 pounds, and that’s it.  It’s about developing a healthy lifestyle and finding a way to stick with it.

So … all this long build up to say that it was really tough to go for a run today.

I had a bad run last week where I went to the gym and tried to do 4 miles on the treadmill and had to quit after 1 and a half. And then I cut down on the amount I was running because the race was this weekend. And then after the race, my calves hurt SO BAD from my poor choice of footwear.

I had only run twice in the last seven days, and no part of me wanted to go out tonight, in the dark, in the cold. I was in a bad mood and I really had to make myself do it.

But I did it, and I ran my 45 minutes, and afterward I bought a big box of clementines and made a mug of hot chocolate, and I feel that a temptation has been averted.

My next run is the Turkey Trot 5K at Cape Elizabeth High School in less than two weekends!

Pattie Reaves

About Pattie Reaves

I'm a new mom and renegade fitness blogger at After the Couch. I live in Brewer with my husband, Tony, our daughter Felicity, and our two pugs, Georgia and Scoop.