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Day 35: is it 5 weeks already?




I find it amazing that I’ve been doing this as long as it feels like I have, and yet am less than halfway through.


It’s one thing to SAY, “This isn’t a temporary thing, it’s a lifestyle change”. It’s another altogether to realize that you’re going to have to find that same 90 minutes to work out and meditate every single day for the rest of your life, or that you’re going to have to mostly avoid simple carbs ALL THE TIME, until you die. . No eating the entire basket of bread the waiter gives you, no thrice-weekly visit to the ice cream parlor in the summer, not ever ever again.


35 days seems like a LONG time. Especially in light of the fact that it’s only roughly 1/3rd of the way into the #100DaysofHealth project. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever focused this intently on my health for this long. And I have to do it 3 times as long as I already have.

I am, in fact, starting to wonder if I can pull it off.

I noticed that once my 30 day no carb/no alcohol thing was over, some switch in my mind clicked off, and I sort of went from “none, ever” to “It’s ok, whenever”. That wasn’t my intention, but it was almost instantaneous.

And since the latest studies in habits show that the whole “It takes 21 days to create a new habit” thing we’ve been fed since birth is utter B.S., I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked.  The reality of habit formation is that when you form a new one, the old one stays in place, as strong as ever. Picture a groove worn into your brain; that’s the old habit (eat every carb, drink every drink). When you start to create the new habit (say no when the waiter brings the bread basket, skip the pasta part of the menu, refuse the drink), it forms a new (though shallower, of course) groove that you ride along in…right up until you jump the new groove and get back into the old one, which feels as familiar as if you’ve never left it. That’s why it’s sooooo easy to go back to smoking, even after decades of abstinence.

So yeah, I jumped right back into the “Martini and macaroni? Yes please…” rut, especially after the stressful all-day workshop, and the next day after I felt betrayed by a friend, and…

That’s why it’s unsurprising that I lost no weight this week. It’s a bit of a shock that I didn’t gain any, in fact. I did work out either 5 or 6 days out of 7, depending on whether the judges agree that standing on my feet for 8 hours = a workout.

Other interesting stuff this week: I made a real effort to make sure that I was listening to www.Focusatwill.com whenever I was at the computer this week (it was my 7 day challenge) and it made a significant difference in getting some complex things done.

I am noticeably stronger than I was when I started. I can do some things now—like side planks—that I positively couldn’t at the beginning. And while it wasn’t my #1 goal, I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing an actual difference in my body composition. It FEELS stronger, but when I look at myself in the mirror, I see zero progress. I’ve actually lost about 10 pounds since day 1, but I literally can’t see it. I’m trying not to obsess about it, because it’s not nearly as important as getting strong and flexible and healthy. But it sure would be nice to SEE some results.

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