Putting ME First!

Hey all, I am lovin' my new blog layout - it's got so much more character than the old one.

First, I stepped on the scale tonight at the gym and luckily, i'm still sitting at 213 - phew. I almost didn't go to the gym tonight. I got home from work and I was exhausted! I'm still hung over from yesterdays self-destructing events and my legs are still in pain from my hour and a half workout on Tuesday (see blog post: the Perfect Storm). But I pushed through the exhaustion and put my 1 hour of cardio in!

I am really starting to appreciate this whole "putting me first" mentality. The Biggest Loser as well as the message boards on Weight Watchers often contain conversations around putting yourself first and making your health a priority in order to be successful in losing weight and keeping it off. Thus, I have adopted this idea that I MAKE time for myself because I am important. This new mentality of mine is seriously boosting my confidence and making me love myself even more than I already do! Today, I took the time to appreciate my accomplishments and give myself a good long pat on the back for losing 20 pounds this last month and a half.

A few weeks ago I posted a message on the weight watchers message board and someone responded to my comment saying that "I was lucky to have the luxury to have the time to go to the gym, etc". A LUXURY! No way! This really bothered me. I don't think of this as a luxury! I leave for work at 6:30am every day and don't get home until 6:30pm Monday through Friday. Additionally, I am taking a few graduate level courses on the side and sit on a handful of community city committees. I MAKE time to go to the gym, not because it's a luxury - but because it's a priority and I've made a choice to put my health first. I go to the gym at 8:30 at night - hardly a "luxury". As I thought more and more about this - how in the world can taking care of yourself first and foremost be considered a luxury - isn't it a necessity? Just venting here, but I do feel very stongly about this.

Time to take my "luxurious" arse to bed now - getting up at 5:30am tomorrow morning to get ready for work (as usual)...